Pope Leo Sends Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine on Holy Family Sunday

Vatican, Dec 28, 2025: Marking Holy Family Sunday, Pope Leo sent three truckloads of humanitarian aid to Ukrainian regions most affected by ongoing bombardment, extending support to families displaced by the war.

The consignment included around 100,000 food packets that can be prepared with water into energy-rich soups containing chicken and vegetables. The aid was timed with the liturgical celebration of the Holy Family in Nazareth, drawing attention to families forced into displacement and hardship.

Papal Almoner Cardinal Konrad Krajewski described the initiative as a “small gesture” meant to accompany families who, like the Holy Family, “are travelling along the ‘via dolorosa’ of exile in search of refuge,” often living amid fear, uncertainty, and deprivation.

He added that the gesture reflects God’s closeness to those who suffer, flee violence, or experience rejection and abandonment. Beyond this consignment, the Pope had also arranged financial assistance for several countries through the Office of Papal Charities and Vatican diplomatic channels ahead of Christmas.

For Ukraine, the food supplies—donated by the South Korean company Samyang Foods—reached the Vatican before Christmas Eve and were then redirected to war zones facing severe shortages of electricity, water, and heating.

Cardinal Krajewski noted that the Pope’s response goes beyond words, underscoring that he “not only prays for peace, but wants to be present in the families who are suffering,” through concrete acts of solidarity.

Courtesy: Vatican News