VATICAN CITY, May 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Pope Leo XIV will hold his first 
private audience Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the 
US pontiff's inauguration mass, the Vatican said.

"The martyred Ukraine is waiting for negotiations for a just and lasting 
peace to finally happen," the pontiff said ahead of the meeting.

Zelensky was among politicians, royals and faith leaders from around the 
world who attended the mass inaugurating the start of Leo's papacy.

In St Peter's Square, the Ukrainian leader shook hands of US Vice President 
JD Vance.

In his Regina Coeli prayer at the end of the mass, Leo also noted that "in 
Gaza, children, families and elderly survivors are reduced to hunger".

And he recalled how "in Myanmar, new hostilities have destroyed innocent 
young lives".