Pope Leo XIV gave his first Sunday blessing in St. Peter’s Square, calling for peace on Earth in his second large-scale address to the faithful.
“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 in the square.
The new pope picked up where his predecessor left off with pleas for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and other conflict-ridden areas throughout the world. He praised a cease-fire between India and Pakistan after skirmishes along the countries’ border.
But Leo also brought a few of his own touches to the blessing. He spoke from the center of the square rather from a side window in the Apostolic Palace, and he sang the Regina Caeli prayer, which previous popes have simply recited.
Whether he will continue using the central location is unclear; he couldn’t use the Apostolic Palace window on Sunday because the palace remained locked after Pope Francis’ death on April 21. It was unlocked Sunday afternoon.
Earlier Sunday, Leo celebrated a private Mass near the tomb of St. Peter. He prayed in front of the tombs of several previous popes, including the progressive Pope Paul VI and the more conservative Pope Pius XII.
Many Catholics have closely watched Leo’s moves in his early days as pope to see if he will continue Francis’ progressive legacy or revert to a more traditionalist path. But many other pilgrims were simply happy to be on hand for a historic moment.
“Words cannot express my admiration and gratitude to God,” said the Rev. Dominic Nguyen, leading a Vietnamese-American group from Houston.
With News Wire Services
