Pope asks Italian cardinal to carry out Ukraine peace mission

FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis holds the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, May 17, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis has asked Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian bishops' conference, to carry out a peace mission to try to help end the war in Ukraine, the Vatican said on Saturday.

Francis first spoke cryptically of his intention to launch a mission when he was returning from a trip to Hungary last month but gave no details.