Italy Leo XIV warns: "Never again war!"
The new Pope Leo XIV used his first Sunday prayer in St. Peter's Square to appeal for peace for the whole world. From the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, the new head of the Catholic Church called out in front of tens of thousands of people: "Never again war!" The first pontiff from the USA, the previous Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was cheered loudly time and again. There were repeated chants of his name in Italian: "Leone, Leone".
11.05.2025, 12:34
SDA
The 69-year-old former missionary and head of the Augustinian order was elected on Thursday as Francis' successor as the 267th pope in church history. On one of his first trips outside the Vatican, Leo XIV visited the grave of his predecessor: he had himself taken to the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where the Argentinean's final resting place is located. He prayed at the grave and laid down a white rose.
The big ceremonial mass for the inauguration is planned for Sunday next week, again in St. Peter's Square. Guests of state from all over the world are expected to attend. Vice President JD Vance from the United States, the new Pope's home country, is likely to be present.
