Pope Leo XIV bestowed the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (To the City and the World) blessing upon the faithful during the Easter celebration. This formula is generally reserved for solemn occasions, typically observed during Christmas, Easter, and after a papal election, and is considered one of the most important blessings within the Catholic Church.
On Sunday, thousands of worshippers gathered on St. Peter’s Square in Rome for the traditional Easter Mass, mirroring the custom of previous years. In his Easter message, the Pope issued a warning against apathy concerning the suffering caused by various violent conflicts across the globe. He urged, “Whoever holds weapons, put them down” adding, “Whoever has the power to start wars, decide for peace. Not for a peace enforced by violence, but for one achieved through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but with a desire to encounter them”.
Pope Leo stated, “We are currently getting used to violence. We are thereby becoming desensitized-desensitized to the death of thousands of people. Completely desensitized to the consequences of hate and division, which the conflicts bring about, and desensitized to the economic and social consequences which we all feel”. He pointed to an ever-increasing “globalization of indifference”. Therefore, the Pope pleaded for people to leave behind “all belligerence and every desire for dominance and power”.
The Easter observance this year has been particularly marked by the lingering impact of the war in the Middle East. Pope Leo had already called for global unity and peace during the Easter Vigil Mass, advocating for commitment so that the “eastern gifts of concord and peace” could grow and thrive everywhere and always in the world.
This Easter marks the first celebration as the head of the Catholic Church for Pope Leo XIV, following the previous year when the visibly weakened Pope Francis had assumed the role for one last time before his passing.
