A handshake, a glance over Lake Albano, words measured but loaded with meaning. Yesterday the long-awaited meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who landed in Italy ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held today and tomorrow in Rome, took place in Castel Gandolfo. Even before meeting with Italian authorities, Zelensky wanted to go up to the hill where the Pontiff is spending a summer break, for a confidential talk inside Villa Barberini. The heart of the meeting was, once again, the search for “just and lasting” paths to peace, dialogue as the high road to stopping hostilities, and the Holy See's support for the liberation of prisoners of war and the return of Ukrainian children deported to Russia. As confirmed by an official note, the Pope reiterated his readiness to welcome representatives of Ukraine and Russia to the Vatican to open a negotiating table. Welcomed shortly after 1:30 p.m. by the regent of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, Archbishop Leonardo Sapienza, Zelensky entered the papal residence through a secondary entrance amid impressive security measures. Leo XIV waited for him in the hall with a breathtaking view of the lake below. Then a half-hour private conversation, described as “cordial” by both sides. In the end, the two looked out together from the balcony of the villa to greet those present, as the Vatican's yellow and white flag waved in the sun. Zelensky wanted to honor the Pontiff with a symbolic gift: an album collecting masterpieces of Ukrainian sacred art, from the 11th to the 18th century. Shortly afterwards, in the courtyard of the villa, he shared a few words with reporters, "I thank His Holiness for the meeting and for the Vatican's help. Your prayers are important, but even more so the concrete support to bring our children home". Indeed, the issue of deported minors remains central. Thanks to the mission launched by the Holy See in 2023 - with Cardinal Zuppi sent to Kiev, Moscow, Washington and Beijing - the return of some children and the release of prisoners, including the two Redemptorist priests Ivan Levytskyi and Bohdan Heleta, has already been achieved. An accomplishment, Zelensky reiterated, made possible in part thanks to Vatican mediation. “We want peace, we want the war to end,” the president said again, “and we trust in the role of the Vatican for a meeting of leaders that can mark a decisive step toward the end of the conflict”. Yesterday's meeting was the second between Leo XIV and Zelensky. The first took place in May, soon after the beginning of the pontificate. Since then, the dialogue between Kiev and the Holy See has never stopped.