Standing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica before thousands of faithful gathered in a sun-drenched square, Pope Leo XIV delivered his first Easter Sunday address as head of the Catholic Church — and he didn’t shy away from the world’s darkest realities. His message was direct, urgent, and unmistakably aimed at the powerful: put down your weapons, abandon your hunger for dominance, and choose peace through genuine dialogue.

A Call to World Leaders — Delivered From the Heart of Rome

The centrepiece of Leo’s Urbi et Orbi address — the traditional papal blessing “To the City and to the World” — was a plea for those with military and political power to step back from conflict. He called on those carrying weapons to lay them down, and urged those capable of starting wars to instead seek out the harder path of dialogue and mutual understanding.

“Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace. Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them.”

— Pope Leo XIV, Easter Sunday address

He also echoed a phrase made famous by his predecessor Pope Francis — the “globalisation of indifference” — warning that humanity risks growing numb to suffering and violence by simply resigning itself to the way things are.

Easter as an Act of Hope in a World at War

Leo’s Easter homily earlier in the day set the tone for everything that followed. Speaking into what he described as a collective cry of pain rising from every corner of the world — driven by war, inequality, climate damage, and the exploitation of the vulnerable — the pontiff leaned hard into the Christian message of resurrection as a source of active, not passive, hope.

“Often it seems that God does not exist: all around us we see persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty. But it is also true that in the midst of darkness something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit.”

— Pope Leo XIV, Easter homily

He described Easter’s power as “entirely nonviolent” — a pointed framing given the backdrop of ongoing conflict in the Middle East that has dominated international headlines throughout his first Holy Week as pontiff.

A Peace Vigil Announced — Following in Pope Francis’ Footsteps

Alongside his address, Leo announced a special prayer vigil for peace to be held in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, April 11. The gesture carries clear historical resonance: Pope Francis organised a similar vigil in 2013, drawing around 100,000 people to St. Peter’s Square in a show of solidarity against the Syrian civil war. Leo’s decision to revive that tradition signals that he intends to use the moral weight of the papacy actively in moments of global crisis.

Good Friday at the Colosseum — and a Warning to World Leaders

Leo’s Easter week began powerfully. On Good Friday, the first American-born pope carried the cross for the entirety of the Way of the Cross procession at Rome’s ancient Colosseum — a physically and symbolically demanding act of solidarity with the suffering. Prayers that evening included intercessions for deported immigrant children, alongside a stark reminder to world leaders that history — and something beyond it — will hold their actions to account.

A Pope Navigating War and Diplomacy From Day One

Leo XIV’s first Easter as pontiff arrives during one of the most volatile geopolitical moments in recent memory. He has already expressed a quiet but clear hope that US President Donald Trump can find what he described as an “off-ramp” to bring the Middle East conflict to an end. After delivering his Sunday message, Leo greeted the crowd in ten languages — including Arabic, Chinese, and Latin — before giving the traditional blessing. It was a small but deliberate signal of the global reach of the role he now holds, and the breadth of the audience he is speaking to.

The flowers and spring bulbs traditionally decorating St. Peter’s Square offered a vivid contrast to the world he was addressing — and perhaps that was the point. A message of new life, delivered into the middle of a season of destruction.