Pope Leo XIV’s first Regina Caeli: ‘Never again war!’
The new pope began his pontificate in the sign of peace. Today, Good Shepherd Sunday, in front of almost 100,000 people, he took up the plea his predecessors Paul VI, John Paul VI, and Francis made. Looking out onto St Peter's Square, he urged a ceasefire in Ukraine and Gaza. He called for urgent humanitarian aid be “provided to the stricken civil population”. Leo XVI welcomed "with satisfaction" the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. During this morning Mass in the Vatican Grottoes, near the tomb of Saint Peter, he said “to listen to build bridges and not judge”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – In the hopeful silence that filled the period of the Sede Vacante, the desire for a voice to focus on peace grew, while the echo of the last appeals Pope Francis made could still be heard.
A signal came from the congregations of cardinals that preceded the Conclave with an appeal addressed "to the parties involved in various international conflicts". The Holy See Press Office announced that, “The cardinals called for a permanent ceasefire and the start of negotiations that would lead to a just and lasting peace”.
On Thursday, Pope Leo XIV arrived, inaugurating a new pontificate in the sign of peace. “Peace be with you all" were his famous first words to the world, which he repeated this morning, looking out from the loggia of the Vatican Basilica for the recitation of the Regina Coeli, the Marian prayer of Eastertide.
Almost 100,000 people crammed St Peter's Square, Via della Conciliazione, and Piazza Pio XII, to celebrate Pope Leo XIV once again, to be present at his first Sunday appearance at noon.
“The immense tragedy of the Second World War ended 80 years ago, on 8 May, after having claimed sixty million victims,” Leo XIV said. “In today’s dramatic scenario of a piecemeal third world war, as Pope Francis stated many times, I too address the world’s leaders, repeating the ever-timely appeal: ‘Never again war!’”
His words on this day, Good Shepherd Sunday, echo those of three of his predecessors: Paul VI, John Paul II, and Francis.
"Never again war!" was what Paul VI uttered in 1965 at the United Nations in New York, 20 years after the foundation of the United Nations. The same words that Saint John Paul II often repeated as well.
Leo XIV remembered Pope Paul VI yesterday, before the College of Cardinals, when, at the start of his pontificate, in 1963, he said: “May it pass over the whole world like a great flame of faith and love”. The new pope’s commitment to peace is already intrinsic to his pontificate, in continuity with Pope Francis.
The cardinals lined up on the side balconies before the thousands of people who flocked on Thursday after the white smoke, standing on guard like sentinels to defend the choice made in the secret of the Conclave.
Speaking in the Synod Hall in the Vatican yesterday, Leo XVI described them as “the closest collaborators of the Pope. [. . .] Your presence reminds me that the Lord, who has entrusted me with this mission, will not leave me alone in bearing its responsibility”.
“I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people,” the pontiff added, turning to the war that has affected Europe since 2022, with the invasion of "tormented Ukraine" – as Pope Francis called the country – by Russia.
“May everything possible be done to reach an authentic, just and lasting peace, as soon as possible. Let all the prisoners be freed and the children return to their own families,” Leo XIV said.
This comes a few hours after the leaders of Great Britain, France, Germany and Poland visited Kyiv to back the proposal for a month-long ceasefire endorsed by Trump, which is now waiting for a response from Russia.
Pope Leo XIV also spoke words of peace for the Middle East. “I am deeply saddened by what is happening in the Gaza Strip: may there be an immediate ceasefire!” he urged.
Since 2 March, Israel’s embargo has prevented the entry of humanitarian aid of any kind into the enclave, where Israeli violence has killed tens of thousands of people since 7 October 2023. “Let humanitarian aid be provided to the stricken civil population, and let all the hostages be freed,” said the pope.
Leo XIV also "welcomed" the "total and immediate" ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan made yesterday by US President Donald Trump after days of clashes with missiles and drones. “I hope that through the upcoming negotiations, a lasting accord may be reached soon," the pope added.
Lamentably, “how many other conflicts there are in the world! I entrust this heartfelt appeal to the Queen of Peace, so that she may present it to the Lord Jesus to obtain for us the miracle of peace,” he said.
Before the recitation of the Marian prayer, the pontiff said that he considers it "a gift from God" that the first Sunday of his "service" falls on Good Shepherd Sunday.
“In the Gospel, Jesus says that he knows his sheep and that they listen to his voice and follow him,” he said. “Indeed, as Pope Saint Gregory the Great teaches, people ‘respond to the love of those who love them’.”
This Sunday is the 62nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations. “The Church has such a great need for them!" he said, citing "especially" those dedicated to the priesthood and consecrated life.
“It is important that young men and women on their vocational journey find acceptance, listening and encouragement in their communities,” he said. “And to young people, I say: ‘Do not be afraid!’,” he added, citing John Paul II’s words, from that same loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, when he became pope in 1978.
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass this morning in the Vatican Grottoes, near the tomb of Saint Peter, before appearing at noon to what seemed like a party, full of colours and sounds by dozens of groups who came from all over the world for the Jubilee of Bands and Popular Entertainment.
In his homily he shared his thoughts about listening. “How important it is to listen!" he said. "I think it's important for all of us to learn more and more to listen, to enter into dialogue,” first of all "with the Lord", and then with “others", so as to "know how to build bridges, know how to listen and not judge, not to close the doors thinking that we have the whole truth”.
On Thursday, as he introduced himself to the world, he said that it is crucial to be “together as one people, always at peace,” a “peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering,” something that is very much needed today.
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