Pope Leo XIV calls for peace in first message on X as pontiff
Pope Leo XIV has officially hard launched his papacy.
The new pontiff, 69-year-old Chicago native Robert Prevost, shared a message Wednesday from the official @Pontifex account on X for the first time since being named the new head of the Catholic Church. The handle was first launched in 2012 during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI.
'Peace be with you all!' he wrote, echoing the first words he said as pope.
'This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd,' Leo continued. 'I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.'
The pope went on to acknowledge that his leadership, which follows the death of his predecessor, Pope Francis, comes at time of global turmoil.
'There is so much violence and so many wars in our world! Amid this horror that should provoke outrage — as people die in the name of military conquest — stands the call of Christ, who repeats: 'Peace be with you!''
Leo added: 'With heart in hand, I say to the leaders of nations: let us meet; let us dialogue; let us negotiate!'
A similar post also appeared on the official papal Instagram account Tuesday alongside several images from the pope's first days in his new role. It was shared in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, Polish and German.
According to a news release from the Dicastery for Communication, the Holy See's communication department, Pope Leo XIV has chosen to 'maintain an active social media presence through the official pope accounts on X and Instagram.'
Upon his election May 8, Pope Leo became the first ever American appointed to lead the Catholic Church. The conclave voted to select him just days after the death of Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88 years old on Easter Monday.
Before that, Leo maintained a small presence on X with an account started in 2011. It had been dormant since July 2023, but it was revived by the then-cardinal, who used it to take aim at the Trump administration's immigration policies and comments by Vice President JD Vance.
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