Pope Francis has renewed his call for the safe evacuation of Ukrainians imprisoned in Mariupol’s steel mill. He says, he weeps as he considers their suffering and how their city has been “barbarously bombarded and destroyed.”

Francis asked all believers to pray the Rosary every day in May for peace; during his regular noontime prayer on Sunday. He pointed out that May 1 marks the beginning of the month dedicated to Mary, the mother of God; after whom Mariupol is called. “Even now, even from here, I reaffirm my call for safe humanitarian corridors for the people besieged in that city’s steelworks,” he said. “When I think about the suffering of the Ukrainian people, especially the weakest, the elderly, and children, I hurt and cry.”

“Horrible news of children being expelled and deported,” he said, as well as the “sad degeneration of humanity.”