Pope Leo focuses on retaining hope amid war and suffering in his first Easter Mass Christopher Lamb, CNNSun, April 5, 2026 at 9:06 AM UTC 0 Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd during the Easter Mass as part of the Holy Week celebrations, at St Peter's square in the Vatican on Sunday. Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images Pope Leo XIV focused on retaining hope amid the violence of war, climate change and other suffering, in his first Easter homily since becoming the head of the Catholic Church last year. Pope Leo, speaking during Mass in St.
Pope Leo focuses on retaining hope amid war and suffering in his first Easter Mass
Christopher Lamb, CNNSun, April 5, 2026 at 9:06 AM UTC
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Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd during the Easter Mass as part of the Holy Week celebrations, at St Peter's square in the Vatican on Sunday. - Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images
Pope Leo XIV focused on retaining hope amid the violence of war, climate change and other suffering, in his first Easter homily since becoming the head of the Catholic Church last year.
Pope Leo, speaking during Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, said the message of Easter responds to "the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth's resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys."
"Often it seems that God does not exist: all around us we see persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty. But it is also true that in the midst of darkness something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit," the pontiff said. "Easter gives us this hope, as we remember that in the risen Christ a new creation is possible every day."
Leo XIV's first Holy Week and Easter takes place against the backdrop of war and has seen him express hope that US President Donald Trump can find an "off-ramp" to end the conflict in the Middle East.
People gather outside Rome's Colosseum as they attend the Via Crucis, or "Way of the Cross" procession presided over by Pope Leo XIV during Good Friday celebrations on April 3. - Vincenzo Livieri/Reuters
On Good Friday, the first US-born pontiff carried the cross for the entirety of the "Way of the Cross" service in Rome's Colosseum, where worshipers heard prayers for deported immigrant children, along with a warning to world leaders that their actions will be judged.
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Last week during Palm Sunday, at the start of Holy Week, Pope Leo said: "Jesus is the King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war … he does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war but rejects them."
This Sunday, thousands gathered in a sunny St. Peter's Square for the Easter Mass, which, per tradition, has been decked out with flowers and bulbs for the celebration.
Later in the day, Pope Leo is expected to reiterate his call for peace in his Easter message from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, where he is also expected to offer a blessing in different languages.
This is a developing story and will be .
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Published: April 5, 2026 at 01:54PM on Source: RON MAG
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