Christian World | Papal almoner Archbishop Luis Marín visited Zaporizhzhia and Poltava with Pope Leo's aid for displaced people, joining a bread line of about 2,000 people

ACW | October 31, 2026 — Pope Leo XIV's almoner, Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, visited Zaporizhzhia and Poltava in war-hit Ukraine this week, delivering the Pope's aid to displaced people and joining a bread distribution, Vatican News reported.

The prefect of the Dicastery for Charity arrived in Zaporizhzhia on the evening of October 28, Vatican News said. The next day he celebrated Mass with about 100 faithful at the Cathedral of the Merciful Father and joined a bread distribution run by the Albertine Fathers.

About 2,000 people, including women, elderly people and many children, queued in the cold for bread and canned food, according to Vatican News. The centre gives bread to about 10,000 people every week.

The bread is baked in an oven Pope Leo donated last year through the Apostolic Almonry. Protestant communities use the same oven on alternate days, Vatican News said.

The delegation also visited the Donetsk Exarchate's humanitarian centre on the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia, whose nursery and primary school are underground. "The children have suffered greatly and have been forced to grow up too quickly," Vatican News wrote.

In Poltava, the delegation gave support to displaced people. Their most urgent needs are medicine, warm winter clothing, generators for heating and nappies, Vatican News said.

Background: Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas and a delegate of Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk joined the visit, according to Vatican News. Pope Leo earlier told the Assisi peace meeting that there is no such thing as a holy war.

Why it matters: The Albertine Fathers' centre in Zaporizhzhia feeds about 10,000 people a week, with Catholics and Protestants sharing one oven, and the Donetsk Exarchate's nursery and school operate underground, Vatican News reported.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Source: Vatican News — Pope's charity reaches children waiting alone in line for bread in Ukraine

Photo: Vatican News