In life, Francis bore the weight of the war — particularly repatriating the 19,000 Ukrainian kids who have been deported to Russia, according to Joe Donnelly, the most recent U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, who spoke with Playbook today from Rome, where he had just attended the funeral.

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have held a brief meeting at the Vatican to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war