Pope Leo XIV Convokes Peace Vigil and Urges Disarmament in First Easter Urbi et Orbi

Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Easter Mass as Pontiff on Sunday, April 5, 2026, in St. Peter's Square, drawing approximately faithful to the Vatican, before delivering an Urbi et Orbi blessing from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in which he called on world leaders to choose peace over war. The American-Peruvian pontiff, born Robert Francis Prevost, issued a direct appeal to those in positions of power, urging an end to ongoing armed conflicts without naming any specific war. He also announced, without prior notice, a prayer vigil for peace to be held in St. Peter's Square on Saturday, April 11, 2026. The Mass marked the conclusion of Leo XIV's first Holy Week as Pope, during which he participated in all liturgical rites beginning with Palm Sunday.

Pope warns world is growing numb to war's toll In his Urbi et Orbi address, Leo XIV warned that humanity is becoming dangerously accustomed to the consequences of armed conflict. „May those who have weapons in their hands abandon them! May those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!” — Pope Leo XIV via ABC TU DIARIO EN ESPAÑOL He cautioned that societies are "resigning themselves" to violence and falling into what he described, echoing his predecessor, as the globalization of indifference toward the death of thousands of people. The Pope stressed that this indifference extends not only to the immediate human cost of wars but also to their economic and social consequences. He made no explicit reference to any specific ongoing conflict, including the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, or Iran. Leo XIV framed the Easter message as a call for a peace achieved through dialogue rather than force, stating that true peace does not seek particular interest but the common good.

Surprise vigil announcement caps first Easter homily Earlier in the morning, at 10:00, Leo XIV celebrated the Easter Sunday Mass itself in St. Peter's Square, during which he delivered a homily denouncing what he called the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth's resources and the violence of war that "kills and destroys." He acknowledged that the Easter message of resurrection "is not always easy to welcome," particularly when loneliness, resentment, or the weight of sin exhausts hope. The altar and stairs of St. Peter's Square were decorated with tens of thousands of multicolored flowers contributed by Dutch florists and Vatican garden workers. Following the Mass, the Pope delivered his Easter greeting in ten languages — including Spanish, Italian, French, English, German, Portuguese, Polish, Arabic, Chinese, and Latin — before proceeding to the Urbi et Orbi blessing. The surprise announcement of the April 11 prayer vigil came at the close of the blessing, with Leo XIV inviting all Catholics to join in imploring God to grant peace "to a world ravaged by wars and marked by hatred and indifference."

First US-born pope follows Francis's tradition of peace vigils Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost on September 14, 1955, was elected on May 8, 2025, becoming the first pope born in the United States and the first to hold either U.S. or Peruvian citizenship. He succeeded Pope Francis, who died on April 21, 2025. His predecessor, Pope Francis, organized similar prayer vigils for peace on at least six occasions, including one on October 27, 2023, twenty days after the Hamas attack on Israel, and another on October 7, 2024, the first anniversary of that attack. The Vatican had not provided details as of Sunday on the precise format the April 11 vigil would take. Leo XIV explained that the vigil is framed as a prayer event because, in his words, the peace that Jesus gives "is not that which is limited to silencing weapons, but that which touches and transforms the heart of each one of us." The Pope proposed that the gathering serve to "set aside all will for dispute, dominance, and power." The announcement marked the first time Leo XIV has called for an initiative of this type since his election. His Easter address also carried an implicit geopolitical dimension, with the pontiff emphasizing that peace must be built through respectful relationships "between people, families, social groups, and nations" rather than through the imposition of any single power's agenda.

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