VATICAN CITY – On Tuesday, as Pope Leo XIV departed the papal summer retreat of Castel Gandolfo on the outskirts of Rome, the U.S.-born pontiff shared a message of urgent hope with reporters: that the ongoing U.S.-Israel war on Iran could reach a ceasefire before the start of Easter celebrations, the most sacred observance on the Christian calendar.
Citing recent public comments from former U.S. President Donald Trump indicating a desire to wind down the conflict, Pope Leo expressed his expectation that the administration would seek an exit path to de-escalation. “Hopefully he’s looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing, which would be a significant contribution to removing the hatred that’s being created, that’s increasing constantly in the Middle East and elsewhere,” the pontiff told reporters.
The pope’s appeal came during Holy Week, the period leading up to Easter that centers on reflection, penance, and preparation for the commemoration of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Reflecting on the disconnect between the holy season and global conflict, Pope Leo noted that what should be a time of quiet peace and self-examination has been overshadowed by widespread suffering. “It should be the holiest time of the year. It is a time of peace, a time of reflection. But as we all know, again, in the world, in many places we are seeing so much suffering, so many deaths, even innocent children,” he said. “We constantly make the call for peace, but unfortunately, many people want to promote hatred, violence, war.”
Pope Leo’s latest remarks extend a broader public push against the misuse of religion to justify armed conflict, a message he first laid out earlier this month during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square. During that service, the pontiff declared that God rejects the prayers of leaders who wage war and invoke religious belief to legitimize their violence, offering special intercession for Christian communities across the Middle East grappling with the fallout of regional conflict.
Recent weeks have seen multiple global leaders on different sides of active conflicts twist religious doctrine to back their military actions. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly leaned on his personal Christian faith to frame the war on Iran as a struggle between a Christian nation and its purported evil enemies. Meanwhile, Russia’s Orthodox Church has characterized Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war” against a Western world it decries as morally corrupt.
As Holy Week progresses, Pope Leo will carry forward the centuries-long traditions of the papacy leading into Easter. On Holy Thursday, he will perform the traditional foot-washing rite at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, a ritual that honors Jesus’ act of humility toward his disciples before his crucifixion. On Good Friday, he is set to lead the annual Way of the Cross procession through Rome’s iconic Colosseum, an event commemorating Christ’s suffering and death, where he will personally carry the processional cross. The Easter Vigil, held after dark on Holy Saturday, will see the pope baptize new converts into the Catholic Church, before he leads the main Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square and delivers his iconic Urbi et Orbi blessing to the city of Rome and the world from the basilica’s central loggia.