Overview
- The vigil at St. Peter’s, which took place Saturday, featured a direct appeal to world leaders to stop wars, reject rearmament, and sit at tables for dialogue and mediation.
- Leone XIV denounced the use of God’s name to justify violence and blasted the display of force and the pursuit of profit, saying that in God’s kingdom there is no sword or drone.
- He said letters from children in war zones lay bare the horror of conflict and urged ordinary people to turn prayer into action by caring for victims and building peace in daily life.
- The appeal coincided with the start of US–Iran talks in Islamabad and a 32-hour Russia–Ukraine truce for Orthodox Easter, which coverage framed as diplomacy the Pope sought to bolster, with no immediate policy shifts reported.
- Reporters described the address as a manifesto that echoes past papal pleas from Paul VI, John Paul II, and Francis, and noted Emmanuel Macron’s presence in Rome for a peace-focused visit with the Sant’Egidio community.