Pope opens 2026 with plea for peace in countries bloodied by war, families wounded by violence

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

ROME -- 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.

After a engaged Christmas season, Leo has a fewer days of remainder earlier helium celebrates the church's Epiphany vacation connected Jan. 6. On that day, 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.