Pope starts 2026 with prayer for countries "bloodied by conflict"

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Pope Leo XIV opened 2026 connected Thursday with a plea for peace, singling retired successful peculiar countries "bloodied by conflict" and families wounded by violence.

Leo celebrated a New Year's Day Mass successful St. Peter's Basilica and past delivered a peculiar noontime supplication from his workplace overlooking the piazza, which was afloat of pilgrims and tourists connected the bright, chilly day.

Leo noted that Jan. 1 marks the church's World Day of Peace and utilized the juncture to contented a prayer.

"Let america each commune unneurotic for peace: first, among nations bloodied by struggle and suffering, but besides wrong our homes, successful families wounded by unit oregon pain," helium said.

Pope Leo XVI Marks New Year With Prayers At The St Peter Basilica And The Angelus Prayer From The Window Of The Apostolic Palace

In Leo's first Christmas homily past week, helium condemned the "rubble and unfastened wounds" near down by wars and singled retired the dire humanitarian concern successful Gaza. He besides urged Russia and Ukraine — successful a Christmas blessing — to find the "courage" for nonstop talks to extremity their war.

After a engaged Christmas season, Leo volition person a fewer days of remainder earlier helium celebrates the church's Epiphany vacation connected Jan. 6. On that time too, helium officially closes retired the 2025 Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century solemnisation that brought millions of pilgrims to Rome.

Immediately thereafter, helium is to preside implicit a two-day gathering of the full College of Cardinals, the princes of the religion who elected him pope, arsenic good arsenic those who are implicit property 80 and didn't enactment successful the conclave but inactive stay portion of the college. Leo is resurrecting a contented mostly eschewed by Pope Francis to convene cardinals each truthful often to question their counsel connected however to govern the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church.

Pope Leo XIV became the archetypal American pontiff successful religion past when he was chosen by his chap cardinals successful May astatine a Vatican conclave.