VATICAN (CNS): Konrad Cardinal Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, drove one of four ambulances donated to Ukraine with the help of Catholics from the US. The ambulances, which bear the coat of arms of Vatican City State, “will be destined for war zones” and are fully equipped with medical instruments needed to save lives.
With Easter approaching, Pope Francis wanted to make a concrete gesture to show his closeness to “tormented Ukraine,” the dicastery said in a press release on April 7.
Cardinal Krajewski was assisted by three other drivers who came from Ukraine, the press release said. It will be his 10th mission to the war-torn nation as a special envoy sent by Pope Francis, and he was slated to remain in Ukraine for a few days “to be with the people so tried by the conflict, to pray with them and to be an expression of the pope’s closeness.”
When the pope formally proclaimed the Holy Year dedicated to hope, he had said that “the need for peace challenges us all, and demands that concrete steps be taken.”
One concrete step is the gift of the four ambulances, the dicastery said, becoming “a sign of Jubilee hope anchored in Christ.”
The ambulances were purchased with donations provided by US Catholics through Cross Catholic Outreach, Father Eloy Rojas, a missionary of mercy and hospital chaplain in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, said on March 28.
