Pope Leo XIV calls for peace in Ukraine, Gaza in first Sunday noon blessing

Pope Leo XIV gave his first Sunday noon blessing since being elected as pope and called for a genuine and just peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

It was the first time that Leo had returned to the loggia since he first appeared to the world on Thursday evening following his remarkable election as pope, the first from the United States. Then too he delivered a message of peace.

Leo was picking up the papal tradition of offering a Sunday blessing at noon, but with several twists. Whereas his predecessors delivered the greeting from the studio window of the Apostolic Palace, off to the side of the piazza, Leo went to the very center of the square and the heart of the church

Sunday noon blessing

What they're saying:

"I too address the world's great powers by repeating the ever-present call ‘never again war,’" Leo said from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to an estimated 100,000 people below.

He also offered a novelty by singing the Regina Caeli prayer, a Latin prayer said during the Easter season which recent popes would usually just recite.

What's next:

Leo will be formally installed as pope at a Mass on May 18 and will preside over his first general audience May 21.

Meanwhile, he asked all Vatican leaders, who technically lost their jobs when Pope Francis died on April 21, to remain in their posts until he decides definitively on whether to confirm them.

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First US-born pope

Pope Leo, born Robert Prevost in 1955, was elected on Thursday afternoon.

Dig deeper:

Leo joined the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and made his solemn vow in 1981. He earned degrees in mathematics, divinity, and canon law—including a doctorate from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. 

Prevost was ordained in 1982 and began his pastoral and academic service in Peru in 1985, where he served in roles such as chancellor, seminary rector, canon law professor, and judicial vicar.

In 1999, Prevost was elected provincial priory of the Augustinians in Chicago, and just a few years later, he became prior general of the worldwide order, serving two terms until 2013. 

He then returned to Peru at Pope Francis’ request to serve as apostolic administrator—and later bishop—of the Diocese of Chiclayo. 

In January 2023, Pope Francis appointed Prevost prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, a powerful Vatican role responsible for episcopal appointments worldwide.

He was made a cardinal in September of the same year. 

Pope Leo’s 1st message

What they're saying:

In his first words, Pope Leo XIV said "Peace be with you."

From the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, he recalled that he was an Augustinian priest, but a Christian above all, and a bishop, "so we can all walk together."

He spoke in Italian and then switched to Spanish, recalling his many years spent as a missionary and then archbishop of Chiclayo, Peru.

ReligionWorld