Archbishop Gallagher Begins Four-Day Diplomatic Visit to Russia in Moscow

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, began a four-day visit to Moscow on August 24, 2026, to engage in diplomatic and ecclesial talks amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

During his visit, which lasts until August 28, Archbishop Gallagher is scheduled to meet with top Russian officials, representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate, and members of the Catholic community in Russia, according to the Vatican's Secretariat of State.

On August 25, he will meet Sergey Lavrov, Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations. The following day, he is set to meet Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The visit underscores the Holy See's commitment to dialogue during a challenging period in international relations, Vatican News reported.

Archbishop Gallagher will also engage with Russia's small and geographically dispersed Catholic community on August 27. His program includes meetings with clergy, religious men and women, and bishops, as well as presiding over a Mass at Moscow's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Catholic Church in Russia comprises the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow and dioceses in Saratov, Novosibirsk, and Irkutsk, Vatican sources detailed.

This is not Archbishop Gallagher's first visit to Moscow; he previously traveled there in November 2021, meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Foreign Minister Lavrov, and Metropolitan Hilarion, then head of the Moscow Patriarchate's External Church Relations.

His visit follows a recent diplomatic trip to Ukraine in July 2026, where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of the renewal of the Latin-rite Church's structures in Ukraine.