Pope prays for ‘miracle of peace' to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza
Pope Leo XIV said he was praying to God to grant the world the 'miracle of peace' and end wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
In his first Sunday mass to a huge crowd in St Peter's Square, he appealed to the world's major powers for 'no more war'.
The new pope, elected on May 8, called for an 'authentic and lasting peace' in Ukraine. He pleaded for 'a true and lasting peace to be possible including the release of hostages and return of children to their families.'
He also called for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all Israeli hostages and access for humanitarian aid. Pope Leo also called for a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
The 69-year-old pontiff urged young people to join in praying for the 'miracle of peace,' and added that he would also pray for all the mothers of the world, as well as those already in heaven, as many countries across the globe celebrate Mother's Day.
A roar of approval welled up from the crowd as he stepped onto the balcony, the sparkle of bright sun glinting off thousands of cell phones held high as he waved, smiling.
Pope Leo's first Sunday address to tens of thousands of people in the square coincided with a previously planned pilgrimage to Rome by marching bands from around the world.
Minutes before the pope addressed the crowd, bands marched up the broad boulevard leading to the Vatican playing songs such as Y.M.C.A. by the Village People, the theme from the film Rocky, and music by John Philip Sousa, who composed the marching classic Stars and Stripes Forever.
The crowd, estimated at more than 100,000 by Italian authorities, was also entertained by bands from Italy, Mexico and other parts of Latin America who came to Rome for the ongoing Catholic Holy Year.
Pope Leo, born in Chicago as Robert Prevost and a missionary for decades in Peru, was elected on Thursday, becoming the first US-born pope to the surprise and delight of Catholics across the Americas.
After a surprise visit on Saturday to the Our Lady of Good Counsel shrine in a 13th century church in the town of Genazzano outside Rome, Pope Leo prayed at sunset at the tomb of his late predecessor Pope Francis, leaving a single white flower before departing the basilica at Santa Maria Maggiore.
As his dark van drove through the narrow streets of Rome, Pope Leo, seated in front next to his driver, leaned out of the open window to shake hands and pump a thumbs up sign to an exuberant crowd.
On Saturday the newly-elected pontiff was met with a standing ovation by the College of Cardinals, to whom he indicated that he will follow closely the path carved out by Pope Francis. He explained that he chose his papal name after Pope Leo XIII because it reflected a commitment to the Church's social teaching and defending 'human dignity, justice and labour' amid a new industrial revolution driven by artificial intelligence.
Pope Leo XIII was an Italian elected in 1879 and who in 1891 wrote the historic encyclical Rerum Novarum [of revolutionary change] to address the conditions of the working classes wrought by the industrial revolution.
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