A delegation of the Community of Sant'Egidio met with the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, during his visit to Poland. The Patriarch thanked Sant'Egidio for its great work to welcome and support Ukrainians fleeing the war in Poland.
Accompanied by the Archbishop of Warsaw, Card. Kazimierz Nycz, and by the President of the Polish Bishops' Conference, Msgr. Stanislaw Gadecki, Bartholomew I greeted a group of refugees, guests of the Stefan Wyszynski Catholic University.
During a moving meeting, he said: "I am grateful for the opportunity to meet you and other refugees in this place made available by the Catholic Church, which is using all its parishes and facilities to welcome you. We must imitate Poland for its generosity. We suffer with you. Our prayer is that peace will come soon and that you will be able to return to your beautiful country. You will find destroyed houses, but your courage will guide you in rebuilding. To you, who are spiritual children of Constantinople, I say: remain steadfast in the Christian faith, which will guide us in these difficult times. We believe in Christ crucified and risen. After Good Friday there is the joy of the Resurrection”.
