St. Peter’s Basilica hosted this Saturday a Prayer Vigil for Peace presided over by Pope Leo XIV, in which nearly ten thousand faithful joined, inside and outside the temple, to a call that the Pontiff launched in the past Easter Urbi et Orbi. In an international context marked by the persistence of conflicts, the Pope has called on world leaders to abandon the logic of rearmament and sit down «at the table of dialogue and mediation», while insisting that the Church will continue to proclaim the primacy of peace even at the risk of misunderstanding.
During the celebration, centered on the recitation of the Rosary and accompanied by meditations from the Church Fathers, Leo XIV has warned against the «idolatry of power and money» and has reminded that true strength does not reside in war, but in service to life. With special reference to the suffering of children in conflict zones, the Pope has urged listening to their voice and has reiterated that prayer is not an evasion, but a concrete response that breaks the logic of evil and commits the faithful to building peace in everyday life.
The call takes place in a particularly tense international scenario, with open conflicts in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and various regions of Africa, along with a growing arms race among the major powers. Added to this is the weakening of multilateral mechanisms and the difficulty of consolidating stable negotiation processes, factors that have reignited the risk of prolonged escalations and have placed the issue of peace at the center of the global debate.