Pope Leo XIV will visit Barcelona for 36 hours and will bless a caravan of vehicles destined for Ukraine. The humanitarian action is organized by Sister Lucía Caram and the Fundació del Convent de Santa Clara based in Manresa.
The entourage will be made up of about 30 vehicles. Seventeen ambulances have already been acquired and are being inspected in Vilafranca del Penedès before heading to the front.
The fleet transports frontline surgical material
Seventeen or eighteen units will be medical ambulances. The rest are vans and other logistical vehicles. Each ambulance costs 20,000 euros. Pirelli checks all the fleet's tires for free.
The shipment includes specific sanitary material for surgical stabilization points on the front line of combat. Also traveling are 25 electric generators for hospitals and shelters. The locations studied for the papal blessing for security reasons are the esplanade of the Cathedral, Montjuïc, or the Sagrada Família.
"I asked if Leo XIV could bless our ambulances for Ukraine and they answered me yes in less than 24 hours" - Sister Lucía Caram, religious and founder
This shipment is added to a long history of direct aid. Sister Lucía Caram has personally driven to Ukraine on 44 occasions. She travels about 3,000 kilometers by road on each trip.
Four thousand people have arrived in Catalonia since the start of the war
The Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022. Four days later, the nun and a volunteer traveled to Moldova and Romania. They brought six people on that first trip. Since then, about 4,000 people have arrived in Catalonia thanks to the foundation and the collaboration of CaixaBank volunteers.
In 2015 it had already welcomed the first Ukrainian refugees from Bakhmut. A married couple was housed in a shelter for homeless people of the foundation in Manresa. Recently, it has transferred 255 Ukrainian children to Port Aventura. These minors are currently staying overnight in Lloret de Mar.
"Everyone is displaced. Either their parents have disappeared, or they have died, or they are captive, or they are injured. Of the group, 10 are 22 and 23 years old and have been on the front lines. And we have children who have been captive" - Sor Lucía Caram, religious and founder
The pontiff maintains a close relationship with the nun's work. On August 28 of last year, the then-Cardinal Robert Prevost, current Pope Leo XIV, received her in Rome for an hour. The meeting took place after an interreligious encounter to which she was invited by Volodymyr Zelensky.
In February, after returning from Ukraine with ambulances that were blessed before the Sagrada Família by the Archbishop of Barcelona, Juan José Omella, the Pope received her again in Rome. The nun assures that the pontiff entrusted her to be his eyes on the issue of childhood.
"Pope Francis told me that he wanted me to be his eyes on the issue of childhood. We started taking children on vacation. When he died, he left me money to buy ambulances" - Sister Lucía Caram, religious and founder
In addition to the ambulances, Sister Lucía Caram set herself the challenge on TikTok of obtaining 30 units for 15,000 euros each. To date, she has managed to send 210 ambulances to Ukraine. Pope Leo XIV will speak in Catalan during his stay and will carry a message of unity. His agenda includes visits to the parish of Sant Agustí, Can Brians, and Montserrat.