Pope Leo XIV calls for peace in Ukraine and Gaza, and offers a Happy Mother's Day

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Leo XIV called for a genuine and conscionable bid successful Ukraine and an contiguous ceasefire successful Gaza, successful his archetypal Sunday noon blessing arsenic pontiff that featured immoderate symbolic gestures suggesting a connection of unity successful a polarized Catholic Church.

"I, too, code the world's large powers by repeating the ever-present telephone 'never again war,'" Leo said from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to an estimated 100,000 radical below.

It was the archetypal clip that Leo had returned to the loggia since helium archetypal appeared to the satellite connected Thursday evening pursuing his singular predetermination arsenic pope, the archetypal from the United States. Then, too, helium delivered a connection of peace.

Pope Leo XIV delivers his blessing from the cardinal balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for his archetypal Sunday blessing aft his election, successful St. Peter's Square astatine the Vatican.

AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Leo was picking up the papal contented of offering a Sunday blessing astatine noon, but with immoderate twists. Whereas his predecessors delivered the greeting from the workplace model of the Apostolic Palace, disconnected to the broadside of the piazza, Leo went to the precise halfway of the quadrate and the bosom of the church.

He besides offered a novelty by singing the Regina Caeli prayer, a Latin supplication said during the Easter play which caller popes would usually conscionable recite.

Traditionalists and conservatives, galore of whom felt alienated by Pope Francis' reforms and escaped liturgical style, person been looking for gestures hinting astatine Leo's priorities. Some person expressed cautious optimism astatine the precise slightest with a instrumentality to a accepted benignant that Leo exhibited connected Thursday night, erstwhile helium wore the ceremonial reddish cape of the papacy that Francis had eschewed.

On manus successful the quadrate connected Sunday for Leo's archetypal noon supplication were 2 of Europe's much firebrand conservatives, France's Marine Le Pen and Italy's Matteo Salvini. The Italian curate has highlighted his Catholic religion successful his governmental messaging.

On Sunday Leo wore the elemental achromatic cassock of the papacy and had reverted backmost to wearing his metallic pectoral cross. He had worn a much ornate 1 that contains the relics of St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica, connected Thursday nighttime that had been fixed to him by his Augustinian spiritual order.

Pope Leo XIV appears astatine the cardinal balcony of St. Peter's Basilica for his archetypal Sunday blessing aft his election, successful St. Peter¥s Square astatine the Vatican, Sunday May 11, 2025.

AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

'Beloved Ukrainian people'

Leo quoted Pope Francis successful denouncing the fig of conflicts ravaging the globe today, saying it was a "third satellite warfare successful pieces."

"I transportation successful my bosom the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people," helium said. "Let everything imaginable beryllium done to execute genuine, conscionable and lasting bid arsenic soon arsenic possible."

He called for the merchandise of warfare prisoners and the instrumentality of Ukrainian children to their families, and welcomed the ceasefire betwixt India and Pakistan.

He besides called for an contiguous ceasefire successful Gaza, and for humanitarian alleviation to beryllium provided to the "exhausted civilian colonisation and each hostages beryllium freed."

Leo besides noted that Sunday was Mother's Day successful galore countries and wished each mothers, "including those successful heaven" a Happy Mother's Day.

The crowd, filled with marching bands successful municipality for a peculiar Jubilee weekend, erupted successful cheers and euphony arsenic the bells of St. Peter's Basilica tolled.

Angela Gentile of Bari arrived successful the quadrate 3 hours aboriginal to beryllium successful place. Nonplussed that cardinals had elected yet different non-Italian pope, she said she was blessed Leo came to the cardinal balcony of the basilica, truthful the assemblage could spot him face-to-face. "What's bully for the Holy Spirit works for me," she said. "I person trust."

More than 50 pilgrims from Houston, Texas, were successful the square, too, waving 3 ample American flags. They were successful Rome connected a pre-planned Holy Year pilgrimage and said they were arrogant to beryllium portion of this historical occasion.

"Words cannot explicit my admiration and gratitude to God," said the Rev. Dominic Nguyen, who led the Vietnamese American group. He said helium hoped the pope would beryllium blessed to spot the Stars and Stripes but besides Peruvian flags and each different countries, showing the universality of the church.

Pope Leo XIV waives from the cardinal balcony of St. Peter's Basilica overlooking St. Peter's Square wherever faithful gathered to person the archetypal accepted Sunday blessing.

Vatican Media via AP

A Mass successful the grottoes and unsealing the apartment

Also Sunday, Leo celebrated a backstage Mass adjacent the tomb of St. Peter and prayed astatine the tombs of respective past popes successful the grottoes underneath the basilica. Vatican Media filmed him praying earlier a premix of much progressive and tradition-minded popes: Pope Paul VI, who closed retired the modernizing reforms of the 1960s Second Vatican Council, and Popes Pius XII and Benedict XVI, connected the much blimpish extremity of the spectrum.

He celebrated the Mass with the caput of his Augustinian bid and his brother, John, successful the pews. In his homily, helium recalled that Sunday was besides the time that the Catholic Church celebrates spiritual vocations, and noted that the contented of declining vocations had been raised by cardinals successful their pre-conclave discussions earlier his election.

Leo said priests tin promote much vocations by offering a bully example, "living the joyousness of the Gospel, not discouraging others, but alternatively looking for ways to promote young radical to perceive the dependable of the Lord and to travel it and to service successful the church."

Leo besides attended the authoritative unsealing of the papal apartments successful the Apostolic Palace, which were sealed aft Pope Francis' April 21 death. It is unclear if Leo volition determination into the apartments oregon conscionable usage them for ceremonial audiences arsenic Francis did. Leo has slept successful his aged flat successful a Vatican palazzo since his election.

The 69-year-old Chicago-born missionary was elected 267th pope connected Thursday. He has a engaged week of audiences earlier his ceremonial installation Mass adjacent Sunday.

Leo, the erstwhile Robert Prevost, spent astir of his priestly beingness arsenic a missionary past bishop successful Peru, an acquisition helium recalled connected Thursday nighttime successful offering a peculiar greeting to his erstwhile diocese successful Chiclayo successful Spanish.

Bertha Santander of Peru had travel 5 hours aboriginal connected Sunday to unfurl her immense Peruvian emblem successful the piazza, recalling the emotion of that nighttime erstwhile the piazza erupted successful cheers arsenic Leo archetypal appeared.

"It's specified happiness," she said. "Already erstwhile I heard the past sanction I started crying and erstwhile helium addressed a greeting successful Spanish I was a oversea of tears," she said.

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