Pope Leo Xiv called for an end to the war when he greeted the crowd on Sunday, May 11, to the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, the second official public appearance since becoming the head of the Catholic church.
“Happy Sunday, dear brothers and sisters!” announced the first American Pontiff, about thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square. The crowd cheered, applauded and waved flags during the celebration.
After praying to the Virgin Mary, the Chicago-born pope spoke enthusiastically about the global conflict, citing the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which claimed 60 million lives.
“As Pope Francis has repeatedly said, in the dramatic situations of the Third World War today, I also talk about the world’s mighty world, repeating the ongoing attraction: there is no more war!” he urged from the balcony.
He responded to the emotions of his former Pope Francis, who called for a “true, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine and expressed deep sorrow for violence in the Gaza Strip, calling for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas war.
He added: “Humanitarian assistance must be provided to tired civilians and all hostages must be released.”
The Leo appearance attracted a large crowd eager to glimpse the new pope, born Robert Francis Prevost, who spent most of his life serving as a missionary in Peru.
Leo was elected as the 267th Pope during the Secret Conference, commissioned a healing division within the church, restored the faith of 1.4 billion Catholics in the world and responded to pressing modern challenges.
In a speech to the Cardinal on Saturday, the 69-year-old pope described himself as “the humble servant of God… nothing more than this”, while St. Peter was “an unworthy successor.”
Sunday’s gatherings were filled with pilgrims from all over the world, with flags and Catholic symbols on it. Priests, nuns and youth groups mixed together in the square, with some guitars and they sang while waiting.
Faithful is Alexandrina Espinosa, 59, of the Quechua community in Peru, who cried after hearing Leo’s election.
“He stole our hearts because he awakened Christianity. The Pope turned his work to the forgotten desolate people.” “I hope this Pope can unite all religions to save the world because humanity is facing a humanitarian crisis. We are killing each other.”
Earlier in the day, Pope Leo celebrated Mass on an altar near St. Peter’s tomb, deep in the Vatican Cathedral.
