Pope Leo XIV in first Sunday blessing calls for peace in Ukraine and Gaza: "Never again war"

Pope Leo XIV called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff.

"I too address the world's great powers by repeating the ever-present call 'never again war,'" Leo said from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to an estimated 100,000 people below.

It was the first time that Leo had returned to the loggia since he first appeared to the world on Thursday evening following his remarkable election as pope, the first from the United States. Then too he delivered a message of peace.