Pope Leo XIV used his inaugural Palm Sunday Mass to deliver a forceful message against warfare that reverberated throughout social media platforms and diplomatic circles, proclaiming that God rejects violent actions and refuses to acknowledge the prayers of warmongers.
Thousands assembled in St. Peter’s Square on March 29 as the first pontiff born in America led the sacred ritual commemorating Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. The 70-year-old pope, attired in red ceremonial robes representing Christ’s Passion, focused his sermon on condemning the use of faith to legitimize armed conflicts.
“Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Pope Leo XIV said. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
The pontiff’s statements arrived as the U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran reach their second month and Russia’s offensive in Ukraine persists. Authorities on all sides of the conflicts have cited religious rationales for their armed actions, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has portrayed the Iran confrontation in overtly Christian language. During a prayer service Hegseth convened at the Pentagon during Holy Week, he asked God to help U.S. forces, saying: “Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation.”
In the days following Palm Sunday, on March 30 to March 31, Pope Leo addressed President Donald Trump directly for the first time, urging restraint over the Iran conflict. “Hopefully he’s looking for an off-ramp,” the pope told journalists outside his residence at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. “Hopefully he’s looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence.”
The ceremony commenced with a procession of cardinals, bishops, priests, and laypeople bearing olive branches and elaborately woven palm leaves throughout the square. Approximately 60 cardinals and bishops took part as the procession moved around the historic Egyptian obelisk that Emperor Caligula transported to Rome in 37 A.D., a location historically linked with early Christian martyrdom, including that of St. Peter.
Pope Leo XIV offered particular prayers for Christians in the Middle East who are “suffering the consequences of a brutal conflict” and frequently cannot fully practice Holy Week observances. His statements held additional significance after Jerusalem police barred Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and the Custos of the Holy Land from accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Palm Sunday Mass, the first occurrence in centuries that religious leaders encountered such limitations at the location where Christians believe Jesus was crucified.
Israeli police sealed significant holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City for security purposes amid Iranian missile attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently stated Israel would seek to partially reopen the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the days following the announcement, after international criticism.
The service carried special significance as it represented the first Palm Sunday since Pope Francis died on Easter Monday in 2025. Francis had recovered from a five-week hospitalization for double pneumonia to acknowledge the faithful from St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday, completing what would be his last popemobile journey around the piazza. He experienced a stroke and died the next morning. His nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, subsequently disclosed that Francis had told him: “Thank you for bringing me back to the square.”
Unlike his predecessor Pope Francis, who celebrated the foot-washing ceremony by visiting Rome-area prisons and refugee centers to wash the feet of Muslims and people of other faiths, Pope Leo XIV moved the rite back to the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
The pontiff finished his sermon by citing Venerable Bishop Tonino Bello, a pacifist and social justice champion whom Pope Francis recognized as venerable in 2021. The bishop, who passed away in 1993, had prayed for a time when “the tears of all the victims of violence and pain will soon be dried up like frost beneath the spring sun.”
Palm Sunday signifies the start of Holy Week, celebrating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem before his crucifixion on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday. The liturgy features readings of Christ’s suffering and crucifixion, establishing the atmosphere for Christianity’s most sacred week.
Pope Leo continued his anti-war message through Easter Sunday, delivering his first Urbi et Orbi blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica before an estimated 50,000 people in St. Peter’s Square. “Let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars,” he said, urging those who “have the power to unleash wars” to choose dialogue over force. As the first U.S.-born pope in history conducted his first Holy Week as pontiff, his consistent position against religious rationalizations for warfare indicated a continuation of recent papal focus on peace while developing his own distinctive voice on the international stage. His messages resonated strongly on social media, where segments of his homilies sparked debates about faith, warfare and political leadership.