Pope Leo XIV called on the world to choose peace over power on April 11, telling thousands gathered at St. Peter's Basilica that people of every religion and ethnicity can live together as brothers and sisters. In a special prayer vigil at the Vatican, he said the answer to war was not force but service, and he warned against what he called an increasingly unpredictable and aggressive “delusion of omnipotence” threatening the globe.
“We want to be united as brothers and sisters, united in a world of peace,” Leo said, adding later: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life.” His appeal drew thousands inside and outside the basilica, where the vigil included the recitation of the glorious mysteries of the rosary and lamps lit from the Lamp of Peace from Assisi by women in traditional dress representing the world’s continents.
The pope’s message landed on a day set aside for prayer, but he framed it as a direct plea to leaders and individuals alike. He called on them to empty their hearts and minds of hatred and violence, saying those who pray recognize their own limits and “do not kill or threaten with death.” He also asked people to listen to children, saying they write to him about “all the horror and inhumanity of actions that some adults boast of with pride.”
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Leo did not name any current conflict in his remarks, even as the language around him was unmistakably global. He said war divides, hope unites, arrogance tramples and love lifts up, then warned that nothing should be treated as fixed fate in a world where people continue to “crucify one another and eliminate life, with no regard to justice and mercy.” That broad approach gave the vigil the feel of a warning shot aimed as much at the mood of the age as at any single battlefield. For more on the pontiff’s recent diplomatic tone, see USinTimes coverage of Pope Leo XIV on Africa and his condemnation of Trump’s Iran threat.
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He also linked his appeal to St. John Paul II’s peace calls during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying: “I make his appeal my own this evening, relevant as it is today,” and repeating the old cry of “No more war.” Leo said prayer and God can help people “break the demonic cycle of evil,” and he described the Church as “a great people at the service of reconciliation and peace” that proclaims the Gospel of peace even when human authority threatens the dignity of others. The message was not abstract. It was a reminder that the next test of the Vatican’s call for peace will come not in words, but in whether leaders answer it with restraint.
