In his strongest criticism yet of the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, Pope Leo XIV told those gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 11 that the conflict was being driven by a spiritual “delusion of omnipotence” and urged political leaders to halt hostilities and negotiate peace. Speaking during an evening prayer service, the pope demanded an end to war at the same time the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan, with a fragile ceasefire holding. MSI previously reported that Leo had pressed for an end to the war through prayer earlier in April.
The pope’s message, delivered in Rome, did not name the U.S. directly in his prayer, but it arrived amid a diplomatic moment and within a broader context of U.S. officials’ public posture on military strength and the war’s religious framing. The Associated Press reported that the tone and thrust of Leo’s remarks appeared aimed at U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, who has boasted of U.S. military superiority and has justified the war in religious terms.
Leo said, “Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” and added, “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!” He also urged people of good will to pray for peace and to press political leaders to end the fighting. In explaining his focus, the pope described prayer as a means of spiritual resistance, saying it is “here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.”
During the service, Leo said that war discourse was dragging even the “holy Name of God, the God of life” into “discourses of death.” He also criticized the way leaders used religion to justify their actions in the war, according to the Associated Press account. The pope said “God doesn’t bless any war, and certainly not those who drop bombs,” framing the conflict as incompatible with divine peace.
The Associated Press report said that the Vatican is particularly concerned about spillover from Israel’s fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, given the plight of Christian communities in southern areas. In Rome, the prayer service included Scripture readings and meditative recitation of the Rosary prayers, with priests and nuns in the pews fingering beads as the “Our Father” and “Hail Mary” prayers were recited.
In the basilica, the Associated Press reported that Belgian Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, the archbishop of Tehran, sat among the attendees. The report also said the U.S. was represented by deputy chief of mission Laura Hochla in the diplomatic corps, as cited in a statement from the U.S. Embassy.
The Associated Press described Leo’s approach as evolving over the war’s early weeks. It said that at first he was reluctant to publicly condemn the violence, limiting his remarks to more muted appeals for peace and dialogue, and that he stepped up his criticism starting on Palm Sunday. This week, the pope also called Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable” and said dialogue should prevail, according to the report.