Pope John Paul II's Trip to Ukraine

POPE JOHN PAUL II�S TRIP TO UKRAINE (23�27 JUNE 2001)

Arrival Ceremony Address (23 June 2001)
In his arrival address at the Boryspil International Airport, Kyiv, 23 June 2001, the Holy Father recalls the history of the Faith in Ukraine, and reassures the Orthodox he's not come to proselytize, but to bear common witness with fellow Christians to Christ. Also included, his prayer to Our Lady of Zarvaniza at the Church of St Nicholas.

Meeting With Representatives of Political Life, Culture, Science and Business
In a meeting, 23 June 2001, at the presidential palace in Kyiv, with the president,
representatives of government, and authorities of Ukrainian culture and science, the Holy Fatherreminds them that "it is Christianity that has inspired the greatest figures of your culture and art,and richly nourished the moral, spiritual and social roots of your country."

Holy Mass (Latin Rite) at Kyiv
On 24 June 2001, the Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist, the Holy Father's homily atChayka Airport, Kyiv, recalls the baptism of St. Volodymyr and his countrymen, which "beganthe flowering of Christian life" in "the land of the ancient Rus'."

Meeting With the Ukrainian Catholic Episcopate
Addressing the Catholic Bishops of Ukraine, 24 June 2001, the Holy Father gives thanks for thefullness of tradition represented there, where the Church breathes with the two lungs of easternand western. And he gives paternal admonitions on points of particular concern.

Meeting With Representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations
Addressing the Churches and other Religious Organizations of Ukraine, 24 June 2001, at the National Philharmonic in Kyiv, the Holy Father praises their common commitment to spiritual and religious values, "which are indispensable for the building of a genuinely free and democratic society." He reminds them that "Christianity is an inseparable part of your civil, cultural and religious identity!"

Divine Liturgy (Byzantine Rite) at Kyiv
In his homily at Chayka Airport, 25 June 2001, the Holy Father calls for a fulfillment of the Savior's words in the Upper Room, "that they may all be one," in the reunion of Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

Holy Mass (Latin Rite) and Beatifications
On 26 June 2001, at the Hippodrome, Lviv, the Holy Father beatified the servants of God, J�zef Bilczewski and Zygmunt Gorazdowski, whose lives were an unceasing response to Our Lady's call for obedience to herSon, "Do whatever he tells you."

Meeting With Young People of Ukraine
In his meeting with the youth of Ukraine, before the Nativity of the Mother of God Church in Lviv, the Holy Father reminds young people that the future of their country depends on them. Recently freed from a totalitarian regime, they should know that true freedom is to avoid sin and heed the Lord's "words of eternal life."

Divine Liturgy (Byzantine Rite) With Beatifications
In his beatification homily, 27 June 2001, at the Hippodrome, Lviv, the Holy Father honors 28 Ukrainian Greek-Catholics, who died for the Faith, as examples of the "highest measure of service of God and of the Church." "They have shown that love is stronger than death."

Farewell Address to the People of Ukraine
In bidding farewell, 27 June 2001, at the International Airport in Lviv, the Holy Father urged Ukraine to become a part of Europe, whose historical role and capability of "spreading civilization" depends on the sharing of the "complementary values" of the peoples of East and West. 

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