Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Pope Leo XIV to visit Ukraine following their first phone conversation on Monday.

“Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people,” Zelensky wrote on X (formerly Twitter), describing the conversation as “warm and truly substantive”.

The Vatican has yet to issue an official response to the invitation.

Zelensky is expected to attend the Pope’s inaugural mass in the Vatican on Sunday.

Ukraine has been resisting a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022. In his first Sunday prayer, Pope Leo XIV – who was born in the United States – expressed solidarity with “the beloved Ukrainian people” in front of more than 100,000 attendees.

“May everything possible be done to reach an authentic, just and lasting peace, as soon as possible,” the Pope said. “May all prisoners be released and the children be able to return to their families,” he added, in what appeared to reference the thousands of Ukrainian children believed to have been taken to Russia.

By referring to a “just peace”, Pope Leo echoed Kyiv’s language, which asserts the need to preserve Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Russia, by contrast, demands the cession of significant territory as a condition for peace.

Zelensky said he and the pontiff had agreed to stay in touch and were planning a future in-person meeting.

The Vatican has made several attempts to mediate the conflict over the past three years, but with limited success.