On his first Sunday appearance as pope, Leo XIV made a passionate appeal for peace and an end to the armed conflicts in the world, especially in Ukraine and Gaza, and cried out, “Never again war!”

Tens of thousands of faithful Catholics gathered in St. Peter’s Square to watch Pope Leo XIV deliver the first Sunday blessing of his pontificate exactly at noon.

Pope Leo XIV has used his first Sunday blessing at the Vatican to address conflicts around the world, calling for an end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.What It MattersLeo's inaugural Sunday blessing marks a significant return of public papal engagement after months of health-related absences by his predecessor,

Pope Leo XIV delivered his first Sunday noon blessing from the loggia at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, three days after the 69-year-old Chicago-born missionary made history as the first American elected to lead the Catholic Church.

Pope Leo XIV called for a genuine and just peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff that featured some symbolic gestures suggesting a message of unity in a polarized Catholic Church.