Nobel laureate Bialiatski meets with Pope, discusses human rights abuses in Belarus

May 28, 2026

Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski asked Pope Leo XIV to pray publicly for victims of human rights abuses in Belarus.

The two met on May 27, at the conclusion of the Pontiff’s general audience in St. Peter’s Square. Bialiatski was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 for his advocacy for human rights and democracy in the autocratic Eastern European nation.

The human rights organization Visana reported that Bialiatski handed Pope Leo a letter describing the human rights abuses there and asking for public support for political prisoners and the Belarusian people.

“I noted that I was very glad to meet with him and thanked him for the attention that the Catholic Church pays to Belarus and its people,” said Bialiatski. “I expressed my gratitude for supporting the imprisoned Belarusians and asked for help in their release.”

“I asked him to pray for the release of political prisoners in Belarus, to pray for the Church, the priests in prison, and for democratic changes in Belarus,” he continued. “It would be a very strong signal of solidarity with the Belarusian people. I asked Pope Leo XIV not to abandon the Belarusian people in their worries and not to forget about Belarus.”

Bialiatski also recalled that a 2012 visit in prison from Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, then apostolic nuncio to Belarus and now prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, gave him strength as well as protection from guards.

Bialiatski also told Fabrizio Peloni of L’Osservatore Romano that “being here with my wife, after nearly 40 years of marriage lived in faith, and being able to freely listen to the words of the Pope is an ‘ode to joy,’ and our thoughts at this moment turn to the nearly 1,000 political prisoners in our country.”

The Vatican newspaper reported:

Bialiatski, who arrived very early accompanied by his wife, Natalija Pinchiuk, stands as a firsthand witness to the commitment to defending human rights. Indeed, he has dedicated his life to promoting democracy in his native land through peaceful dialogue, a pursuit for which he was imprisoned twice, spending a total of four and a half years in confinement.

As early as 2023, Natalija had visited the Vatican, where she prayed at the tomb of Saint Peter for her husband, who was detained at the time. Furthermore, last year, during the early days of Leo XIV’s pontificate, she had requested the Pontiff’s blessing and prayers to help sustain her through the suffering caused by her separation from her spouse.

This morning, the Nobel laureate brought a sheet of paper with him: “I would like to read to the Holy Father this reflection of mine regarding the importance of human rights and the dignity of every individual.” And, two days after the promulgation of Leo XIV’s first encyclical, he added, “I would like to thank him for his care and concern regarding ‘the human person in the age of artificial intelligence,’ as he himself wrote.

 

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Further information:

• In piazza pensando ai diritti umani (L'Osservatore Romano, 5/27/26)
• Ales Bialiatski meets with Pope Leo XIV (Viasna, 5/27/26)