Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, met with the envoy of Pope Francis in Moscow. According to Sky News, Patriarch Kirill, who is a staunch supporter of the war in Ukraine, told papal envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi that they must work together to avoid “negative political events and serve the cause of peace and justice.”

This is the first visit to Moscow by a representative of the Holy See after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The Vatican previously stated that the visit to Moscow was aimed at finding a “way out of the current tragic situation.”

Cardinal Zuppi, who comes from the community of Sant’Egidio, which acts as an unofficial diplomatic channel of the Holy See, visited Kyiv on June 5 and 6.

During that “short but intense” visit, according to the Vatican, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told him that the truce “will not lead to peace.”

Despite Pope Francis’ repeated calls for a ceasefire every week since the beginning of the conflict, the Holy See’s initiatives to establish contact with the Russian authorities have so far failed.

The 67-year-old Archbishop of Bologna, Matteo Zuppi, has been the head of the Italian Episcopal Conference since last year.

He was made a cardinal of the community of Sant’Egidio.

Founded in 1968, this Catholic lay community, which now specializes in diplomacy and peace efforts, had as its original mission to help the poor and marginalized.

She appeared on the international scene during the signing of the peace agreement in Mozambique in 1992, in which members of the community of Sant’Egidio, including Monsignor Zuppi, played a leading role.