Pope Francis made a personal appeal to the Russian embassy to the Holy See on Friday amid Russia’s ongoing and escalating invasion of Ukraine.

“He went to express his concern over the war”, - Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told Reuters, declining to share any specifics about the conversation.

The meeting lasted for over 30 minutes, according to Vatican News, an outlet officially affiliated with the Catholic Church.

Russian Ambassador to the Holy See Aleksandr Avdeyev said that the pope “called for the protection of children, the protection of the sick and suffering, and the protection of people”, - per Reuters.

As noted by Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, this kind of visit is highly unusual for a pope.