Pope Leo XIV used Easter Sunday to press a direct plea for peace as Christians marked the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion, while also marking a shift in how he framed the world’s conflicts from the Vatican.
In his first Easter Mass as pontiff, Leo called for people to lay down arms and for those who hold power to choose peace through dialogue, not through force, and not with a desire to dominate others. He emphasized hope after a year of escalating violence, describing what he said was an indifference to “the deaths of thousands of people” and to “the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow,” as well as the economic and social consequences that conflicts produce.
After the Mass, Leo delivered the Urbi et Orbi blessing—Latin for “to the city and the world”—from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. The blessing traditionally includes a litany of the world’s woes, but Leo departed from that pattern by not listing current wars by name. The report said there was no immediate explanation for the change.
Instead, Leo quoted a message attributed to his predecessor, Pope Francis, who had warned the faithful from the same loggia last Easter about the “great thirst for death, for killing,” describing a daily reality of violence. Francis, who was weakened by a long illness, died the next day on Easter Monday.
Leo also incorporated other visible gestures and ritual choices during his first Easter as pope and during Holy Week. He greeted global faithful in 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Latin, reviving a practice that Francis had let lapse, and he stepped out from the loggia’s shadow to wave to the crowd below before later returning to the basilica. While Holy Week continued through Holy Thursday and Good Friday, the report said Leo reclaimed the tradition of washing priests’ feet during the Thursday rite and carried the light wooden cross for the entire 14 stations on Good Friday—actions described as departures from choices made by Francis.
Outside Rome, Christian celebrations were shaped by the security climate in conflict zones across the region. In the Holy Land, traditional ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—revered by Christians as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection—were scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police, with limits on public gatherings tied to ongoing missile attacks. The restrictions, the report said, also dampened celebrations around Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr and the weeklong Jewish festival of Passover, including a Western Wall priestly blessing limited to 50 people rather than the tens of thousands it normally draws.
The restrictions also strained relations between Israeli authorities and Christian leaders. Police prevented two top religious leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, according to the report, adding to the subdued tone of Easter observances.
In Gaza, where the report described a tiny Palestinian Christian community observing its first Easter since a ceasefire, local Catholics gathered for Mass at the Holy Family church in Gaza City. George Anton, from Gaza City, said the community found “great joy” after the ceasefire and after nearly three years of suffering, and he described people as “somewhat relieved and more stable.”
In Iran, where the report said the conflict had targeted the capital with daily airstrikes since Feb. 28, Armenian Christians held Easter at St. Sarkis Cathedral in central Tehran, with families embracing and children exchanging painted eggs. Juanita Arakel, 40, an English language teacher, said children “just need to feel normal,” while Armenian Archbishop Sepuh Sargsyan said, “Our calls and prayers are that we will be able to end this war,” adding the same plea in the report’s concluding remarks.