Tens of thousands of people crammed into St Peter’s Square to give Pope Leo XIV a rapturous welcome – as the new pontiff called for ‘lasting peace’ around the world
The new Pope made a passionate plea for “no more war” in a powerful message to world leaders during his first Sunday address at the Vatican yesterday. As tens of thousands of people crammed into St Peter’s Square to give him a rapturous welcome Pope Leo XIV demanded change.
He called for a “lasting peace” in the war in Ukraine, a ceasefire in Gaza, but praised the agreement to end recent hostilities between India and Pakistan. He described himself as “deeply hurt” by ongoing events in Gaza. The second the curtains opened and he stepped on to the balcony at noon he was greeted with a huge roar.
As he waved to the crowd there was a massive round of applause. Police officers, paramedics and firefighters rushed forward to take their own personal photos of the momentous occasion. It was a much bigger crowd than when Pope Leo XIV was elected on Thursday.
Pope Leo will now be formally inaugurated at a mass in St Peter’s Square next Saturday. He said: “The immense tragedy of the Second World War ended 80 years ago… now we’re facing the tragedy of a third world war in pieces. I would also like to address the powerful people of the world, repeating the always current call: ‘no more war’.”
The pontiff continued: “I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people. May whatever is possible be done to reach an authentic, true and lasting peace as quickly as possible. May all the prisoners be freed. May children return to their families. And I am deeply hurt by what is happening in the Gaza strip.
“May a ceasefire immediately come into effect. May humanitarian aid be allowed into the civilian population and may all hostages be freed.” He went on: “I was happy to hear on the other hand that there was a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and I hope that through the coming negotiations we might soon come to a lasting accord.”
During his speech he mentioned several countries by name and there were cheers when he said: “Dallas, Texas” There was a joyful atmosphere with hundreds of flags from many countries being waved. There were several Stars and Stripes to mark the country of the Pope’s birth – the United States. Others included Cuba, Greece, Poland, Costa Rica, the Philippines and France. There was one Union Jack fluttering near the back.
A woman who said she had flown in from New York was standing next to me and had tears in her eyes. There were hundreds of children with their parents who wanted them to watch a piece of history. Dozens of bands played around the square.
One even cheekily struck up legend American John Denver’s classic “Country Roads” as they were leaving but were asked to stop.