At the conclusion of the Mass for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, October 12, Pope Leo XIV turned his thoughts to those suffering the consequences of conflict, political instability, and other forms of injustice around the world.

His thoughts and prayers, first, turned to the Holy Land, and especially to the human cost of the violence. 

“Two years of conflict have left death and destruction everywhere,” the Pope said. “Especially in the hearts of those who have brutally lost their children, their parents, their friends - everything.”

Assuring those affected that the Church stands beside them, Pope Leo reminded them of God’s unwavering presence, even in the darkest of moments and in doing so quoted: “Dilexi te – I have loved you." 

These words of the Pope's followed a message of hope in which he encouraged the recent agreement between Israel and Hamas. Pope Leo urged all parties involved to continue, with courage, along the path toward “a just, lasting peace” that honors the legitimate aspirations of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

Pope Leo prayed that humanity might rediscover the ability to see the other “not as an enemy, but as a brother,” capable of forgiveness and worthy of reconciliation.