Pope Leo XIV’s First Easter Urbi et Orbi Urges Those Who ‘Have the Power to Unleash Wars’ to Choose Peace Amid U.S.–Israeli Iran War
In his first Easter Urbi et Orbi as pope, Leo XIV urged “those who have the power to unleash wars” to choose peace and lay down their weapons, preaching a nonviolent Christian resurrection power that rejects the “idolatry of profit” and the abuses that crush the weakest. He delivered the plea without naming specific conflicts even as the nearly 40‑day U.S.–Israeli war on Iran and Russia’s campaign in Ukraine continue, announced an April 11 prayer vigil, restored traditional Holy Week rituals, and spoke amid heightened regional tensions that have prompted Israeli security curbs on attendance at holy sites and contrasted sharply with President Trump’s contemporaneous threats against Iran.
📌 Key Facts
- Pope Leo XIV delivered his first Easter Mass homily as pontiff from an open‑air altar in St. Peter’s Square decorated with white roses and spring perennials.
- In his Urbi et Orbi blessing he urged those with weapons and “those who have the power to unleash wars” to choose peace, saying “Let those who have weapons lay them down!” and asserting that the power with which Christ rose is “entirely nonviolent,” calling for peace “not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue.”
- He consciously departed from recent practice by not naming individual countries or conflicts in the Urbi et Orbi, despite the remarks coming nearly 40 days into the U.S.–Israeli war with Iran and amid Russia’s campaign in Ukraine.
- From the loggia he announced a prayer vigil for peace to be held April 11 in St. Peter’s Basilica.
- Leo XIV revived more traditional papal rituals and forms of address: he greeted the global faithful in 10 languages (including Arabic, Chinese and Latin), restored the Holy Thursday foot‑washing, and personally carried the wooden cross through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross.
- The pope’s nonviolent Easter message was widely juxtaposed with President Trump’s contemporaneous, profanity‑laced threats to strike Iranian infrastructure — Trump vowed Iran would be “living in Hell” and threatened to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges by a specific deadline — a contrast that intensified criticism from Catholic and human‑rights voices.
- U.S. domestic reactions included a White House defense of Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urging Americans to pray for victory “in the name of Jesus Christ,” and Trump spiritual adviser Paula White‑Cain publicly likening Trump to Jesus at an April 1 White House Easter lunch.
- In the Holy Land, Israeli security restrictions and ongoing missile attacks sharply limited attendance at Easter ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Western Wall priestly blessing; Israeli police recently blocked two top Christian leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday, and the curbs have also affected Ramadan, Eid al‑Fitr and Passover observances.
📊 Relevant Data
Women comprise less than 10% of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) service members, compared to about 19% of the overall Department of Defense active-duty force.
Women in Special Operations: Improvements to Policy, Data, and Assessments Needed to Better Understand Barriers to Integration — U.S. Government Accountability Office
Black service members are underrepresented in U.S. special operations forces compared to their representation in the eligible military population, while Hispanics and other racial groups are proportionally represented.
Are There Barriers to Minorities Joining Special Operations Forces? — RAND Corporation
55% of American Jews oppose U.S. military action against Iran, compared to 32% who support it, in a population where Jews make up about 2.4% of U.S. adults.
Most American Jews disapprove of US military action against Iran, new poll shows — The Forward
African American households face higher energy burdens across all income levels compared to other households, with burdens 27% higher on average, in a population where Black Americans comprise 13.6% of the U.S. population.
Across Income Levels, African American Families Have Higher Utility Bills Than Other Households — The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
📰 Source Timeline (5)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Axios juxtaposes Pope Leo XIV’s Easter Urbi et Orbi peace message directly with President Trump’s contemporaneous vow that Iran would be 'living in Hell' and his public threats to strike Iranian power plants and bridges by a specific Tuesday deadline.
- The piece frames the contrast as a dueling Easter message: the Pope calling for nonviolent solutions and restraint, while Trump doubles down on punitive, infrastructure-focused military threats.
- It further clarifies that these clashing messages landed on the same religious holiday, sharpening criticism from Catholic and human-rights voices online about the moral framing of the Iran war.
- This article quotes Pope Leo’s Easter Urbi et Orbi line directed at 'those who have the power to unleash wars' and expands on his call for peace 'not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue.'
- It tightly time-stamps his remarks as coming nearly 40 days into the U.S.–Israeli war with Iran and explicitly frames them against President Trump’s profanity-laced Easter threat to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
- The piece recounts that in a Palm Sunday homily Pope Leo said God 'does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,' and includes the White House press secretary’s response defending Trump and military leaders calling on Americans to pray for U.S. troops.
- It adds context that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked Americans to pray for victory 'in the name of Jesus Christ,' and that Trump spiritual adviser Paula White‑Cain likened Trump to Jesus Christ at an April 1 White House Easter lunch, explicitly tying attempts on his life and indictments to Christ’s suffering.
- Leo XIV used his first Easter Urbi et Orbi to explicitly urge, "Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!" while calling for peace through dialogue rather than force.
- He consciously departed from tradition by not listing individual conflicts or countries by name in the Urbi et Orbi, despite the ongoing U.S.–Israeli war on Iran and Russia’s campaign in Ukraine, after having followed the traditional formula at Christmas.
- From the loggia, he announced a specific prayer vigil for peace to be held April 11 in St. Peter’s Basilica.
- Leo greeted the global faithful in 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Latin, reviving a practice that Pope Francis had let lapse.
- During Holy Week he restored more traditional rituals, including washing priests’ feet on Holy Thursday and personally carrying the wooden cross through all 14 stations of the Way of the Cross.
- Details that the remarks come in Pope Leo XIV’s first Easter Mass homily as pontiff, delivered from an open‑air altar in St. Peter’s Square decorated with white roses and spring perennials.
- Direct quotations from the homily stressing that ‘the power with which Christ rose is entirely nonviolent’ and that it ‘does not seek private interests, but the common good; it does not seek to impose its own plan.’
- Specific language condemning ‘the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources’ and ‘abuses that crush the weakest among us’ as forms of ‘death’ alongside ‘the violence of war that kills and destroys.’
- Description of Israeli security restrictions sharply limiting attendance at Easter ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and at the Western Wall priestly blessing due to ongoing missile attacks, and note that these curbs have also dampened Ramadan, Eid al‑Fitr, and Passover observances.
- Report that Israeli police recently blocked two top Christian leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, straining relations with church authorities.