Pope Leo XIV warns: « Never again war! »

The new one Pope Leo XIV. has used his first Sunday prayer on St. Peter’s Square for a peace appeal for the whole world. The new head of the Catholic Church called several ten thousand people from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: « Never war again! » The first pontiff from the USA, the previous cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was repeatedly cheered. There were several speeches with his name in Italian: « Leone, Leone ».

The 69-year-old former missionary and head of the Augustinian order was elected on Thursday as the successor to Francis on the 267th Pope of Church History. In one of his first paths outside the Vatican, Leo XIV visited the grave of his predecessor: in Rome he was brought to the Marienkirche Santa Maria Maggiore, where the Argentine’s final resting place is located. He prayed at the grave and put a white rose down.

The big solemn fair for inauguration is planned for Sunday next week, again on St. Peter’s Square. State guests from all over the world are expected. Vice President JD Vance will probably be there from the United States, the home country of the new Pope.