Pope urges peace in his first Easter mass: ‘Let those who have weapons lay them down’

Leo XIV departs from tradition of listing world’s conflict by name in the Urbi et Orbi blessing at St. Peter’s Basilica, where he greets crowd in 10 languages

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call Sunday to lay down arms and seek peace in global conflicts through dialogue, but he departed from a tradition of listing the world’s woes by name in the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Leo, the first US-born pope, emphasized Easter’s message of hope as a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection after being crucified, in both the blessing and his homily.

“Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us; let those who have weapons lay them down; let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace,” the pope implored. “Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue; not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them.”

With the US-Israeli war with Iran in its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo acknowledged a sense of indifference “to the deaths of thousands of people … to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow … to the economic and social consequences they produce.’’

Without mentioning the wars by name, Leo quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, who during his last public appearance from the same loggia last Easter, reminded the faithful of the “great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day.’’

Francis, weakened by a long illness, died the next day on Easter Monday.

The Urbi et Orbi blessing, Latin for “to the city and the world,’’ has traditionally included a litany of the world’s woes. Leo followed that formula during his Christmas blessing. There was no immediate explanation for the shift.

Earlier, Leo addressed some 50,000 faithful from an open-air altar in St. Peter’s Square flanked with white roses, while the steps leading down to the piazza where the faithful gathered were filled with spring perennials, symbolically resonating with the pope’s words.

He implored the faithful to keep their hope in the face of death, which lurks “in the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys.’’

Speaking from the loggia, the pope announced a prayer vigil for peace April 11 in the basilica.

“On this day of celebration, 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 makes us feel powerless in the face of evil,’’ he said.

Small shifts in traditions

Leo greeted the global faithful in 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Latin, reviving a practice that his predecessor Pope Francis had let lapse.

Before retreating into the basilica, Leo stepped forward out of the loggia’s shadow and waved to the cheering crowd below.

After, he greeted people in the piazza from the popemobile, continuing his tour all the way down Via della Conciliazione toward the Tiber River and back.

During the marathon that is Holy Week, Leo also reclaimed the tradition of washing priests’ feet on Holy Thursday, a gesture of encouragement toward clergy, after Francis had chosen a more inclusive path, traveling to prisons and homes for the disabled to wash the feet of women, non-Christians and prisoners.

The 70-year-old pontiff also became the first pope in decades to carry the light wooden cross for the entire 14 stations during the Way of the Cross on Good Friday.

Christians in the Holy Land were marking a subdued Easter

Traditional ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered by Christians as the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, were scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police. Authorities have put limits on the sizes of public gatherings due to ongoing missile attacks from Iran.

The restrictions also dampened the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday, as well as the current weeklong Jewish festival of Passover. On Sunday, the Jewish priestly blessing at the Western Wall — normally attended by tens of thousands — was limited to just 50 people.

The restrictions have strained relations between Israeli authorities and Christian leaders. Police last week prevented two of the church’s top religious leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On Tuesday, the pope had expressed hope that the war could be finished before Easter.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.