Papal envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi plans late-September Russia visit, RIA Novosti reports
On Sept. 21, 2026, Reuters reported that Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Cardinal Matteo Zuppi — papal envoy on Ukraine and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference — as saying he plans to visit Russia in late September to discuss humanitarian issues. Earlier state-media quotes, Reuters reported, said Kremlin foreign-policy adviser Yuri Ushakov expected to discuss humanitarian matters related to the Ukraine conflict with Zuppi. The plans are attributed through RIA Novosti and Reuters. The visit is not described as completed.
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Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the papal envoy for Ukraine and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, said on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, that he plans to visit Russia in the later days of September, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported, according to Reuters.
RIA Novosti quoted Zuppi, speaking at the opening of a session of the Permanent Council of the Italian Episcopal Conference, as saying: “I think that the visit can be carried out in the later days of September. If possible, I plan to discuss humanitarian issues.” Reuters separately noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign-policy adviser Yuri Ushakov had earlier been quoted by state media as saying he would discuss humanitarian issues related to the Ukraine conflict with Zuppi.
Reuters reported that Zuppi last visited Moscow in October 2024 for talks about family reunification, prisoner-of-war exchanges, and prospects for dialogue about ending the war in Ukraine. A Sept. 17 TASS report quoted Zuppi saying preparations were underway and that the agenda was not yet determined. RIA Novosti stated that Pope Leo XIV had confirmed Zuppi’s mandate, originally given under Pope Francis in 2023.
No Holy See Press Office confirmation of a completed itinerary was located when this brief was drafted. The visit is reported as planned, not completed.
Sources
Reuters: Papal envoy plans visit to Russia in late September, RIA says (Sep 21, 2026)
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/papal-envoy-plans-visit-russia-late-september-ria-says-2026-09-21/RIA Novosti: Посланник папы Римского планирует посетить Россию в конце сентября (Sep 21, 2026)
https://ria.ru/20260921/poslannik--2119307040.htmlArchived copyTASS: Cardinal Zuppi reports preparations for visit to Moscow in late September (Sep 17, 2026)
https://tass.com/world/2188959Archived copy
Corrections and updates
- Update, September 21, 2026: Brief prepared from the Reuters URL for the Sept. 21 dispatch, the RIA Novosti page opened the same day (Permanent Council quote; Pope Leo XIV confirmation of the 2023 mandate), and the Sept. 17 TASS report (preparations underway; agenda not yet determined). reuters.com returned 401 on this pass, so the October 2024 Moscow visit and the Yuri Ushakov line stay attributed to Reuters and were not re-read on that page. Wayback snapshots exist for RIA Novosti and TASS. Save Page Now required a login; archive.today returned 429. No photo.