Pope Leo XIV opened the Vatican’s Palm Sunday services with a message aimed at separating prayer from violence, saying in his homily that God “doesn’t listen to the prayers of those who make war” and that Jesus cannot be invoked to justify fighting. Speaking in St. Peter’s Square, the pope linked the theme to the wars pressing on global attention: the U.S.-Israeli conflict involving Iran had entered its second month, and Russia’s campaign in Ukraine continued as Holy Week began.
In the homily, Leo said that “this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.” He continued with a passage he attributed to Scripture, saying that God rejects the prayers of those who wage war, “saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.’” The pope’s remarks came as leaders on multiple sides of the Iran war have used religious language to frame the fighting, according to the Associated Press account.
The pope also addressed the place of Christians living near active conflict. In a special blessing at the end of Mass, Leo said he was praying especially for Christians in the Middle East who are “suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict.” He added that “In many cases, they cannot live fully the rites of these holy days,” as he urged continued prayer during Holy Week.
The Palm Sunday message also unfolded alongside a dispute in Jerusalem over access to a key Christian site. Earlier Sunday, Jerusalem police prevented the Catholic Church’s top leadership from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass in private, which the Patriarchate said was the first such prevention in centuries. Israeli police said the request from Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and others had been denied, saying all holy sites in the Old City were closed to worshippers for security reasons, while adding that freedom of worship would continue to be upheld “subject to necessary restrictions.”
After criticism that followed the decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would try to partially open the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the coming days. Leo, in his homily and prayers for Holy Week, said Christians “cannot forget how many people around the world are suffering as Christ did,” and he asked for prayers “to the Prince of Peace” to support people wounded by war and help open “concrete paths of reconciliation and peace.”
The start of Holy Week at the Vatican brought added historical weight as well, since many there were remembering the final days of Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday after a stroke. Last year at the outset of Holy Week, Francis was recovering at the Vatican after a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia, had delegated liturgical celebrations, and then returned on Easter Sunday to greet the faithful from the loggia of St. Peter’s Square; the Associated Press account said his final popemobile loop around the piazza became a particularly lasting image.
According to the report, Francis died the following morning after suffering a stroke, and his nurse Massimiliano Strappetti later told Vatican Media that Francis had told him: “Thank you for bringing me back to the square” for the final salute. This week, Leo was set to preside over the liturgical appointments and, according to the report, was “returning to tradition” with Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremonies.
The Associated Press account said Leo is restoring the foot-washing tradition to the basilica of St. John Lateran, where popes performed it for decades. The Vatican had not yet said who would participate; it noted that past popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II normally washed the feet of 12 priests. The same schedule preview put Leo on track to preside over the Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum, baptize new Catholics at the late-night Easter Vigil, and deliver his Easter blessing from the loggia of the basilica after celebrating Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square.