In his Easter Sunday message delivered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV called on “those who have the power to unleash wars” to choose peace instead.
He did not call out world leaders by name, but his message comes nearly 40 days into the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The war has spread throughout the region, destabilizing nearby countries like Lebanon and those in the Gulf and shocking the global economy.
“In the light of Easter, let us allow ourselves to be amazed by Christ! Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us!” the first U.S.-born pontiff told the crowd in his “Urbi et Orbi” address. “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!”
The pope’s prayers for peace came as President Donald Trump threatened an escalation in military attacks on Iran in a profanity-laced Easter morning tirade on Truth Social.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—-n’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” Trump said, adding, “Praise be to Allah.”
In his Easter message to the world on a day when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, Leo said, “We are growing accustomed to violence” and becoming indifferent to death, which he characterized as a far cry from Jesus’s peaceful teachings.
He also called on the world to “abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power.”
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He made similar remarks during the Holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday and earlier on Palm Sunday. In his Palm Sunday homily, he said that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.”
When asked about the pope’s Palm Sunday comments, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with our military leaders or with the president calling on the American people to pray for our service members and those who are serving our country overseas.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked the American people to pray every day for U.S. victory in the war “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Trump’s spiritual advisor, televangelist Paula White‑Cain, likened the president to Jesus Christ during a White House Easter lunch on April 1, when she alluded to attempts on Trump’s life and past criminal indictments.
“It’s a familiar pattern that our lord and savior showed us. But it didn’t end there for him, and it didn’t end there for you,” she said.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.