ROME — On the Vatican’s iconic St. Peter’s Square, thousands of faithful gathered under a bright spring sky on Sunday to hear Pope Leo XIV deliver his first Easter Sunday message to the global Catholic community, marking a landmark moment for the first U.S.-born pontiff one year after he assumed leadership of the Church. Against a backdrop of ongoing armed conflicts across the globe, the core of Leo’s address was an urgent, uncompromising call for global leaders with the power to initiate war to lay down the path of confrontation and embrace dialogue-driven peace.
Standing on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the pontiff issued a stirring appeal to global power holders. “Let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that make us feel powerless in the face of evil,” he said. Expanding on his plea, he added: “Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace. Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them.”
Many in the gathered crowd of thousands expressed public support for Leo’s peace advocacy, with one group holding aloft an Italian-language placard reading: “Pope Leo we are with you, guide our future.”
In his message, Leo carried forward a core theme of his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, echoing Francis’ well-known framing of a “globalization of indifference.” He warned that global publics are increasingly growing numb to widespread violence, growing accepting of conflict and desensitized to human suffering amid ongoing war.
Leo emphasized that the core spiritual meaning of Easter, the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, is rooted in nonviolence. “The power of Easter is entirely nonviolent,” he stated. He went on to announce a special public prayer vigil for global peace to be held in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 11. The event echoes a landmark 2013 vigil organized by Pope Francis amid the outbreak of Syria’s civil war, which drew roughly 100,000 attendees to rally against military intervention.
After delivering his address, the pontiff extended Easter greetings to the global faithful in 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Latin. He concluded the traditional service with the Regina Coeli prayer and the iconic Urbi et Orbi blessing, the historic papal address offered “To the City and the World.”
Leo’s first celebration of Holy Week and Easter comes at a moment of heightened global conflict, and the pontiff has already signaled his proactive engagement in diplomatic efforts: he recently expressed public hope that U.S. President Donald Trump can secure an “off-ramp” to de-escalate and end ongoing hostilities in the Middle East.
Just days earlier, on Good Friday, Leo completed the entire traditional Way of the Cross procession carrying the cross on his own at Rome’s Colosseum. During the service, the congregation offered prayers for the children of deported immigrants, while Leo warned that world leaders will one day be held accountable for their policy choices. A related deep dive report by CNN examines how Leo has systematically pushed back against claims that divine authority can justify war.
Earlier on Sunday, during his Easter homily at the public mass, Leo centered his remarks on sustaining hope in the face of overlapping global crises, from ongoing armed violence to accelerating climate change and widespread systemic inequality. He tied the celebration of Easter directly to the world’s most pressing struggles, noting that the holiday’s message offers a response to “the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys.”
Acknowledging widespread public despair amid persistent injustice, cruelty, and indifference, Leo offered a message of cautious optimism. “Often it seems that God does not exist: all around us we see persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty. But it is also true that in the midst of darkness something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit,” he said. “Easter gives us this hope, as we remember that in the risen Christ a new creation is possible every day.”
St. Peter’s Square was decorated according to long-standing Easter tradition, lined with vibrant seasonal flowers and flowering bulbs for the annual celebration. This report has been updated to include new details of the pontiff’s public appearances this Holy Week.