AP
Vatican City, Updated At : 03:20 PM Apr 05, 2026 IST
Pope Leo celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff, urging the faithful to hold on to hope in the face of “the violence of war that kills and destroys” as conflicts spread worldwide.
With the US-Israeli war on Iran in its second month and Russia’s campaign in Ukraine ongoing, Leo has repeatedly called for a halt to hostilities. In his Easter homily, he singled out those who wage war, abuse the weak and prioritize profit over people.
Addressing worshippers from an open-air altar in St. Peter’s Square, flanked by white roses and spring perennials on the steps below, the US-born pontiff asked people to keep hope even amid death and suffering that appears “in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable.”
“We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys,” he said.
Quoting his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo warned against indifference to “persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty,” while offering the reminder that “in the midst of darkness, something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit.”
He is scheduled to deliver the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing — to the city and the world.
Christians in the Holy Land observed a subdued Easter. Ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered as the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, were scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police, which have limited the size of public gatherings amid ongoing missile attacks.
Those restrictions also affected Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr observances and the weeklong Jewish festival of Passover. The Jewish priestly blessing at the Western Wall, normally attended by tens of thousands, was limited to about 50 people on Sunday.
Tensions between Israeli authorities and Christian leaders have increased; police last week prevented two of the church’s top religious figures, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
On Tuesday, the pope had expressed the hope that the war could end before Easter.
