Pope Francis on Wednesday urged people to spend less on Christmas celebrations and gifts this year and send the difference to help Ukrainians avoid winter hunger and cold.
The pope, who has appealed to Ukraine at nearly every public event since Russia invaded the neighboring country in February, made the unpublished plea at the end of his weekly general audience.
“Brothers and sisters, I tell you, there is so much suffering in Ukraine, so much, so much,” he said, adding that he wanted to draw attention to the particular problems Ukrainians would endure in the coming months.