by Daniele Frison

From Piazza Madonna dei Monti to the streets of the city, young Ukrainians bring to the Jubilee the wounded and tenacious heart of their country, as well as flags, songs, meetings, and the word “Volya”: freedom and the will to resist. A 20-year-old man told AsiaNews that he came “to rest spiritually." For the Brand Ukraine NGO, “We are fighting for a European future.”

Rome (AsiaNews) – In Piazza Madonna dei Monti, tourists and young people take shelter from the heat near the 500-year-old Fountain of the Catechumens. Off to one side, but clearly visible, a woman drapes a yellow and blue flag over her shoulders.

It is late afternoon, the church is open, and has been all day. It is named after two Syrian martyrs, Sergius and Bacchus, but it is also known as the Cathedral of the Madonna of the Pasture, the Italian home for the Ukrainian community of Byzantine rite,

Not far from the fountain’s still water, some young people wear Vyshyvanka (Ukr: вишиванка), a traditional embroidered shirt. Here, as at the Basilica of Hagia Sophi, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is organising spiritual and cultural events for the Youth Jubilee. Approximately 2,000 young men and women have come to Rome from Ukraine.

Above the Piazza Madonna dei Monti, the clouds race by, creating a breathtaking light show as evening approaches. If you look closely, the yellow and blue returns: a flag hoisted on the church's façade, a patch on a nun's habit, a young woman's cloak with the signatures of young people from Canada and the Philippines can be seen. War here seems ridiculous.

At one point, an accordion appears, then a guitar, and four young women with their husbands on stilts. The Yellow and blue multiply, forming a semicircle, young people and families together, clapping and singing.

“Let’s party until dawn!" says a traditional wedding song. "You said / That on Tuesday you'd kiss me," a man says to his sweetheart in the lyrics. "I came and you weren't there.”

With Ukraine’s airspace closed, young people could not fly in; instead, most reached Rome by bus, crossing Europe, to experience the Jubilee event with hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world, and with Pope Leo XIV.

They came from cities ravaged by war, from Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, the dioceses of Donetsk and Zaporizhya. Many also arrived from other European countries, where they currently live, displaced by Russia’s aggression. Their departure was preceded by fundraisers and solidarity initiatives to make the journey possible, a true pilgrimage.

The stay in Italy is a unique opportunity to come together as a community, given the daily challenges that prevent it. All pilgrims from Ukraine received a complimentary Jubilee kit, thanks to the Dicastery for Evangelisation, two days ago, at the welcoming Mass in St Peter's.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella greeted his "friends" from Ukraine: “May the fraternal embrace that unites us as one body reach those from Ukraine”, he said.

That same evening, Pope Leo XIV, in a surprise appearance before the weekend's Tor Vergata gathering, addressed the young people with these words: “Let us all say together: We want peace in the world!”

"For us, for Ukrainians, it is essential that this is not just appeasement or a ceasefire: it must be a true, lasting, and just peace,” said Maria Lypiatska, from Kyiv, speaking to AsiaNews.

She heads Brand Ukraine, an NGO founded in February 2022 with the aim of telling the world about Ukraine's history and boost its image.

The NGO is working with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church during the Youth Jubilee to introduce Ukrainian culture to participants. We met her in Madonna dei Monti Square. At  a time when "disinformation and fake news are widespread and propaganda is effective, it is essential to communicate true, fact-based information," she says.

“Among our values are freedom and respect for human rights: universal, Christian, European. We are fighting for a European future. This is why it is important that young Ukrainians are here with young people from Italy and around the world.”

In the square, attention is drawn to the Volya brand, which is also printed on Maria Lypiatska's shirt. “It's a very special Ukrainian word. It exists in many languages, but only in Ukraine does it have a specific meaning," she explains.

"It means freedom and the will to fight for it. We all believe that a value like freedom must sometimes be defended, even with weapons. This is what Ukrainians do every day in my country."

It represents the tenacious identity of the Ukrainian people, marked by the tragedy of invasion and death, which mixes with the celebration that suddenly broke out in front of the Cathedral of the Madonna of the Pasture.

In the square, Vadym Sheremeta, 20, a Ukrainian from Ternopil, also spoke to AsiaNews. He has been in Italy since the start of Russia’s invasion on 24 February 2022. He is studying theology in Lodi (Lombardy) and is a second-year seminarian. He is participating in the Jubilee with a group of young Ukrainians living in Italy.

"We are about a hundred; some are children of parents who emigrated 20 or 25 years ago, while others arrived when the war began. We also met two years ago, at the WYD in Lisbon."

For Vadim, being in Rome is important to "show that the war is still raging in Ukraine, that it's not over, and that we need to talk about it." This is done through meeting people from Europe and beyond.

“Today I had a wonderful moment with a girl from Spain; she approached me and asked me about the situation in Ukraine," he says. “It's the first time I've been asked this question, really. Because there's so much to talk about, but there's also a great need to listen.”

Vadym notes that young Ukrainians have a chance to "rest spiritually" this week. “There are long lines to get into the Vatican, and into the basilicas around the city. It's scorching hot in Rome, yes, but we experience Mass every day. We have the opportunity to see the churches where the apostles are buried, to admire the Eternal City,” he says.

This moment of serenity and connection experienced by hundreds of young men and women from Ukraine, gathered for the great gathering of Christian youth, is priceless.

To the young people of the world who participate, the 20-year-old wants to repeat the words of Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Metropolitan Archbishop of Kyiv: “Ukraine stands. Ukraine fights. Ukraine prays.”

• vatican
• rome
• jubilee
• youth
• ukrainians
• war
• russia