NABU to issue commemorative coin honoring Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II. Photo: Polskie Radio

The National Bank of Ukraine will issue a commemorative coin honoring Pope John Paul II to mark the 25th anniversary of his visit to Ukraine in 2026, Ukrinform reports.

“Today we are announcing the National Bank's decision to honor an outstanding spiritual leader and one of the most influential Poles – Saint Pope John Paul II,” NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi said. “This year, on the 25th anniversary of his historic visit to Ukraine, the National Bank will issue a commemorative coin dedicated to him.”

Pyshnyi recalled that Pope John Paul II arrived in Ukraine on June 23, 2001.

“In his very first address, he spoke these defining words: ‘Ukraine has a clear European vocation,’” Pyshnyi said. “Even then, he spoke of Ukraine not as a territory between different worlds, but as a European nation with its own history, culture, and the right to determine its own future.”

The head of the National Bank also stressed that the pontiff actively promoted Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation. In a 2003 address, John Paul II urged Ukrainians and Poles “not to remain prisoners of painful memories, to acknowledge the mistakes of the past, to forgive the wrongs they have suffered, and to ask forgiveness for the wrongs they themselves have committed.”

As the UOJ previously reported, officials in the Lviv region have called on President Volodymyr Zelensky to invite the Pope to Ukraine.

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