Pope Leo XIV Marks First Palm Sunday With Forceful Call for Peace

A procession of palm leaves and olive branches moved through St. Peter's Square on March 29, 2026, as Pope Leo XIV marked his first Holy Week as pontiff with a Mass that became an unambiguous declaration against using religion to justify violence.

Preaching before thousands gathered in the square, Leo described Jesus as the King of Peace "who rejects war" and "whom no one can use to justify war." Drawing on the prophet Isaiah, he pressed the point further: "He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them," the pope said, citing scripture directly: "Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood." The homily closed with an invocation to Mary, asking that "the tears of all the victims of violence and pain will soon be dried up like frost beneath the spring sun."

Ahead of the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer, Leo renewed his appeal for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East. "At the beginning of Holy Week, more than ever, we are close in prayer to the Christians of the Middle East who are suffering consequences of these holy days," he said. The pope, who as a missionary made a habit of peaceful and pastoral engagement with political leaders in difficult circumstances, has repeatedly issued such calls since taking office.

The remarks carried added weight given a recent incident at the Pentagon. Crux reported that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had, just days earlier, prayed at a monthly Pentagon service for "overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy." The day before that service, Hegseth announced sweeping changes to the U.S. military chaplaincy, which he alleged had been "watered down" and "infected by political correctness and secular humanism." His order, as Crux reported, reduced the number of officially recognized faith codes from over 200 to only 31, and directed that chaplains wear only insignia indicating their own religious tradition while removing rank insignia from their uniforms entirely.

The Vatican gathering unfolded as tensions flared in Jerusalem, where Catholics reacted to reports that Israel had blocked access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for apparent safety concerns. A separate Crux headline indicated a Catholic cardinal was refused entry to the site, though the identity of the cardinal and the specific circumstances remained unconfirmed in available reporting.

Leo's first Holy Week as pontiff arrives at a moment of acute conflict across the Middle East, and his Palm Sunday homily left little room for ambiguity: that Jesus, "even as war looms around him," reveals himself as the King of Peace.