Pope greets Ukrainian children at Wednesday audience

(Vatican Radio) During this week’s general audience, Pope Francis extended a special greeting to a group of children from Ukraine, who had been brought to the Vatican by the international initiative Children for peace all over the world.

Listen to Ann Schneible’s report:

“I greet with special affection the children of Ukraine, orphans and refugees as a result of the armed conflict which still continues in the East of the country,” the Pope told the 80 children who were in St. Peter’s Square for the occasion.

“For the intercession of Mary Most Holy, I renew my prayer that we may strive for enduring peace, in order that it may relieve the so exhausted population, and offer a serene future for new generations.”

The Children for peace all over the world project aims to promote peace in the world – with a particular emphasis on Ukraine – through the use of maps which are then decorated with paper “world peace” doves, on which children write their wishes.

The initiative was launched in Ukraine December 1, 2015, and was initiated by the Embassy of Hungary in Ukraine and the Honorary Consulate of the Hungary in Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Since its beginning in November, 2013, the conflict in Ukraine has forced more than a million into displacement, with hundreds of thousands of those affected being children.

In April, Pope Francis issued an appeal for peace in Ukraine, calling European churches to take up a collection for those affected by the conflict.