On his first Easter as pope, Pope Leo — the first American to hold the papacy — appealed for peace as conflict involving U.S. forces in Iran continued, urging global leaders to find an off‑ramp from war. Thousands of worshippers filled St. Peter’s Square to hear the message.
In a translation provided by an interpreter, the pope said, “Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace.” Chris Livesay, reporting from Rome, said the plea had been building throughout Holy Week.
In the days leading up to Easter the pope repeatedly denounced war. On Good Friday he delivered unusually harsh language for a papal address, warning that those in power “will answer to God for their power to start and to end wars” and adding, “God does not wage war. Your hands are full of blood,” a line Livesay described as notably strong.
Livesay also pointed out a striking contrast inside the Vatican: Michelangelo’s Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel, restored and cleaned for the first time in nearly 30 years, now appears sharper, its figures seeming pulled upward and downward in the fresco’s dramatic vision of judgment — a visual counterpoint to the pope’s verbal rebukes.
The report noted that cardinals elected Robert Prévost to become Pope Leo almost a year ago. From his first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica he repeatedly used the word “peace,” and Sunday’s Easter message reinforced that theme as a central element of his early papacy.
The television segment concluded with anchor Jericka Duncan thanking Livesay for his report from Rome.