Pope Leo XIV Calls for Peace in His First Easter Mass as Pontiff

As tens of thousands of pilgrims packed St. Peter's Square on April 5, Pope Leo XIV stood at the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica and issued the most urgent message of his young papacy: lay down weapons and choose dialogue over domination. The Chicago-born pontiff's Urbi et Orbi address, his first as pope, drew a stark theological line against the logic of war at a moment when the United States and Israel were more than five weeks into a military conflict with Iran.

"Let those who have weapons lay them down," Pope Leo said. "Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace. Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them."

The moral weight of the address was heightened by what Pope Leo chose not to say. Departing from a longstanding tradition of naming specific global conflicts, he issued a universal appeal while warning that the world was growing "accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent." The omission was conspicuous given that the Iran war, now spreading instability across Lebanon and the Persian Gulf, was the defining geopolitical crisis of the Easter weekend.

At the theological core of the address was a pointed claim about the nature of Christ's resurrection: "The power with which Christ rose is entirely nonviolent." The line reframed Easter as a repudiation of militarism, insisting that the victory Christians celebrate was won through love rather than force.

The contrast with Washington's posture on the same morning was impossible to ignore. As Pope Leo addressed the faithful in Rome, President Donald Trump posted a message on Truth Social demanding Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face military consequences, warning the country's leaders they would be "living in Hell." The parallel dispatches from pope and president, issued hours apart on the holiest day of the Christian calendar, crystallized a friction between the Vatican and the Trump White House that had built throughout Holy Week.

On Holy Thursday, Pope Leo had condemned what he called the "imperialist occupation of the world." By Good Friday, U.S. Military Archbishop Timothy Broglio declared the Iran war unjust on Face the Nation, stating the conflict was "not sponsored by the Lord." The pope had also made a direct appeal earlier in the week, publicly calling for Trump to find an "off-ramp" to end the conflict.

To close his Easter address, Pope Leo announced he would lead a prayer vigil for peace on April 11 at St. Peter's Basilica, inviting the faithful worldwide to join him in imploring "the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars.