Image: from Catholic News Service X @CatholicNewsSvc
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
VATICAN CITY — Presiding over Palm Sunday Mass before tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV issued a scathing rebuke of leaders who invoke the divine to justify military conflict. As the war between the U.S.-Israeli coalition and Iran enters its second month, the Pontiff insisted that God is a “King of Peace” who rejects the prayers of those who wage war.
“Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Leo XIV declared during his homily. In a direct challenge to the religious rhetoric currently permeating global conflicts, he added, “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
The Pope’s comments come at a time of heightened religious nationalism. In the United States, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has frequently invoked Christian faith to frame the campaign against Iran as a struggle of a Christian nation against its foes. Simultaneously, the Russian Orthodox Church has continued to characterize the invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war” against a perceived “evil” West.
And so Palm Sunday concludes as Pope Leo XIV bids farewell to the faithful from the popemobile, while the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica ring out to mark the beginning of Holy Week.
🎥 CNS photo/Lola Gomez pic.twitter.com/6cSofc6xmo— Catholic News Service (@CatholicNewsSvc) March 29, 2026
A Somber Holy Week in the Middle East
The Pontiff offered a special blessing for Christians in the Middle East, noting that many are currently “suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict.” His remarks followed reports from the Latin Patriarchate that Israeli police had blocked Catholic leadership from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, an unprecedented disruption of Palm Sunday rites that have stood for centuries.
“Their trials appeal to the conscience of all,” Leo XIV said, calling for “concrete paths of reconciliation” as the Church enters its most sacred week.
Pope Leo XIV intones the Creed at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Palm Sunday pic.twitter.com/3Smulz2FCt
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) March 29, 2026
Restoring Tradition
The 2026 Holy Week serves as a poignant anniversary for the Vatican. Last year, Pope Francis made a final, emotional loop around St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile on Easter Sunday after a grueling recovery from pneumonia. He passed away the following morning, Easter Monday, after suffering a stroke.
Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff in history, is using this year’s schedule to return the papacy to more traditional liturgical practices. While Pope Francis famously traveled to prisons and refugee centers to wash the feet of the marginalized, including Muslims and those of other faiths, Leo XIV is returning the Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony to the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
The move marks a departure from his predecessor’s “periphery-focused” ministry, returning to the customs favored by Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II.
The Road to Easter
Following Thursday’s ceremony, the Pope is scheduled to preside over the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum, commemorating the Passion and crucifixion of Christ. The week will culminate in the Easter Vigil on Saturday night and the Easter Sunday Mass, where the Pontiff will deliver the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing from the loggia of the basilica.