Pope Leo XIV calls for peace in Ukraine and Gaza, saying 'Never again war'

Pope Leo XIV delivers his blessing from the cardinal balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for his archetypal Sunday blessing aft his election, successful St. Peter's Square astatine the Vatican, Sunday, May 11, 2025. Andrew Medichini/AP hide caption

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Andrew Medichini/AP

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV called for a conscionable and lasting bid successful Ukraine and an contiguous ceasefire successful Gaza with the merchandise of hostages and transportation of humanitarian assistance successful his archetypal Sunday noon blessing arsenic pontiff.

"I excessively code the world's large powers by repeating the ever-present telephone 'never again war,'" Leo said from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica.

It was the archetypal clip that Leo had returned to the loggia since helium archetypal appeared to the satellite connected Thursday evening pursuing his singular predetermination arsenic pope, the archetypal from the United States. Then excessively helium delivered a connection of peace.

Leo was picking up the papal contented of offering a blessing astatine noon, but with respective twists. Whereas his predecessors delivered the greeting from the workplace model of the Apostolic Palace, disconnected to the broadside of the piazza, Leo went to the precise halfway of the quadrate and the bosom of the basilica.

He besides offered a novelty by singing the Regina Caeli prayer, a Latin supplication said during the Easter play that past popes would usually conscionable recite.

He wore the elemental achromatic cassock of the papacy — not the ceremonial reddish cape helium wore connected Thursday nighttime — and had reverted backmost to wearing his metallic pectoral cross. He had worn a much ornate 1 that contains the relics of St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica, connected Thursday nighttime that had been fixed to him by his Augustinian spiritual order.

Leo quoted Pope Francis successful denouncing the fig of conflicts ravaging the globe today, saying it was a "third satellite warfare successful pieces."

"I transportation successful my bosom the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people," helium said. "Let everything imaginable beryllium done to execute genuine, conscionable and lasting bid arsenic soon arsenic possible."

He called for the merchandise of warfare prisoners and the instrumentality of Ukrainian children to their families, and welcomed the ceasefire betwixt India and Pakistan.

He besides called for an contiguous ceasefire successful Gaza, and for humanitarian alleviation to beryllium provided to the "exhausted civilian colonisation and each hostages beryllium freed."

Leo besides noted that Sunday was Mother's Day successful galore countries and wished each mothers, "including those successful heaven" a Happy Mother's Day.

The crowd, filled with marching bands successful municipality for a peculiar Jubilee weekend, erupted successful cheers and euphony arsenic the bells of St. Peter's Basilica tolled. Italian authorities estimated immoderate 100,000 radical were successful the square.

Earlier Sunday, Leo celebrated a backstage Mass adjacent the tomb of St. Peter with caput of his Augustinian order, the Rev. Alejandro Moral Anton. The Mass occurred successful the grottoes underneath St. Peter's, the accepted burial spot of St. Peter, the apostle who is considered the beryllium the archetypal pope.

The area, which is usually unfastened to the public, besides contains the tombs of past popes, including Pope Benedict XVI.

Leo connected Saturday prayed earlier the tomb of Pope Francis, located crossed municipality astatine the St. Mary Major Basilica.

The 69-year-old Chicago-born missionary was elected 267th pope connected Thursday pursuing the April 21 decease of Francis.