It shows the head of the Catholic Church how it blesses a Ukrainian toddler in Rome in July 2025, holding ribbons in the Ukrainian national colors.
In Italian and Ukrainian, Leo XVI is quoted on the stamp as saying: "War will not prevail. And children have a right to true, just and lasting peace.
The Pope’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, together with the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Grand Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk, and the Vice-President of the Ukrainian Parliament, Olena Kondratjuk, presented the special postage stamp in Kiev in Kiev.
Few world leaders speak as clearly for peace as Leo
With the stamp, Ukraine would like to thank Leo XIV for the active participation of the Vatican in the repatriation of kidnapped Ukrainian children, Kondratjuk explained.
"For us, any Ukrainian child who is in fact in Russian captivity is important," she added. Only a few world leaders speak out as clearly as Leo XIV for a truly just and lasting peace in Ukraine and the repatriation of all kidnapped Ukrainian children and all prisoners.
According to Ukrainian data, Russia deported 20,570 children and youth from the Ukrainian territories occupied by its army to Russia. Moscow firmly rejects the accusations of a systematic abduction and instead portrays the events as a humanitarian aid operation.
"They are forcibly deprived of their identity, have no access to the Ukrainian language, to education and to the church, and are militarized," Kondratjuk said of those affected. Only 2,083 minors have been returned so far.
At the presentation of the stamp, Grand Archbishop Shevchuk expressed the hope that the call for the protection of Ukrainian children will be heard worldwide.
Relationship between Zelensky and Francis was considered difficult at times
The special stamp for the Pope also stands in the majority Orthodox Ukraine for an improvement in relations with the Holy See under the new pontiff.
The relationship between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Pope Francis was at times considered difficult.
In addition, Francis was sharply criticized in the country attacked by Russia for his statement that Ukraine should have "courage to the white flag".
In Ukraine, according to a recent survey, six percent of adults are committed to the Greek Catholic Church associated with Rome.
One percent is Roman Catholic. 63 percent call themselves Orthodox Christians.