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Pope Leo XIV has appealed to world leaders to pursue peace, not war, in his first Sunday address to crowds in St Peter’s Square, Vatican City.
The new pope, formally Cardinal Robert Prevost, called for an “authentic and lasting peace” in Ukraine, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of all Israeli hostages.
The Chicago-born pontiff also welcomed fragile ceasefire agreement signed by India and Pakistan on Saturday.
“No more war,” the pope said, delivering his speech in Italian.
Wearing a simple white papal cassock and his silver pectoral cross, he repeated a frequent call of the late Pope Francis and noted the recent 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
Pope Leo said today’s world was living through “the dramatic scenario of a Third World War being fought piecemeal”, again repeating a phrase coined by his predecessor.
Nearly 100,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square and on the Via della Conciliazione leading to the Vatican to hear the new pontiff’s first Sunday address.
They broke into applause at the call for peace on what was a joyous occasion despite his solemn message.
It was the first time that Leo had returned to the loggia since he appeared to the world on Thursday evening following his election as Pope – the first ever from the United States.
The new pope said he carried in his heart the “suffering of the beloved people of Ukraine”, and he appealed for negotiations to reach an “authentic, just and lasting peace”.
Leo also said he was “profoundly saddened” by the war in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian aid and the release of the remaining hostages held by the Hamas militant group in the besieged strip.
He added, however: “There are so many other conflicts in the world.”
Leo also noted that Sunday was Mother’s Day in many countries and wished all mothers, “including those in heaven”, a Happy Mother’s Day.
The crowd, filled with marching bands in town for a special Jubilee weekend, erupted in cheers and music as the bells of St Peter’s Basilica tolled.
On Saturday evening, the pope made his first trip outside the Vatican to visit a Catholic shrine and pay respects at the tomb of his predecessor, Francis, who lies in nearby Santa Maria Maggiore.
At the end of the visit there, the Pope told those in the shrine that he wanted to come to pray for guidance in the first days of his papacy, according to a Vatican statement.
The 69-year-old Chicago-born missionary was elected 267th pope on Thursday following the death of Francis on 21 April.
