Pope Leo XIV has called for an end to war in the world.
He made the call on Sunday as he greeted crowds from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in his second official public appearance since becoming the leader of the Catholic Church.
The pontiff appealed for a genuine, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine.
He emphasized that he was deeply saddened by events in the Gaza Strip and called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Following a prayer to the Virgin Mary, the pope cited the recent 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, a conflict that killed 60 million people.
Recalls the cardinals at a secret conclave on Thursday chose Leo as the 267th pope, praying he could heal rifts within the Church, renew faith among the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, and address a host of modern-day challenges weighing on the more than 2,000-year-old institution.
