Pope Leo XIV opened 2026 on Thursday, delivering a New Year’s message centered on peace for people and families affected by war and violence. Speaking during a special noontime prayer, the pope singled out countries “bloodied by conflict” and prayed as well for “our homes,” including “families wounded by violence or pain,” according to the Associated Press report by Nicole Winfield.
Earlier that day, Leo celebrated a New Year’s Day Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. After the Mass, he moved to a prayer that took place at midday from his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square, where the AP reported that pilgrims and tourists were gathered on the bright, chilly Jan. 1.
The pope’s message tied the day to the Catholic Church’s observance of World Day of Peace. Jan. 1, Leo said, marks the World Day of Peace, and he used the occasion to issue his prayer for peace “among nations” as well as within homes.
After the busy Christmas season, Leo had several days of rest before the church’s next major liturgical milestone. He was scheduled to celebrate the Epiphany holiday on Jan. 6, the AP report said.
The pope also planned to use Epiphany as the point at which he would officially close out the 2025 Holy Year, a once-every-quarter-century celebration that drew millions of pilgrims to Rome, according to the report. Immediately after that closure, Leo was to preside over a two-day meeting of the entire College of Cardinals.
The AP report described the cardinals as the princes of the church who elected him pope. It also said the meeting would include those who are over age 80 and did not participate in the conclave but still remain part of the College of Cardinals, and it said Leo was reviving a tradition largely avoided by Pope Francis: convening cardinals periodically to seek their counsel on how to govern the Catholic Church.