"I renew my appeal to allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to put an end to the hostilities, whose heartbreaking price is paid by the children, elderly, and the sick."

This was the heartfelt appeal made by Pope Leo XIV toward the conclusion of his first General Audience in St. Peter's Square on 21 May, in his remarks to Italian pilgrims, after expressing, "The situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly worrying and painful."

The humanitarian emergency in Gaza is at a breaking point. In fact, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), supported by the UN, is warning of an imminent famine.

According to agencies, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has intensified as Israeli airstrikes on May 20, 2025, resulted in at least 55 Palestinian deaths, including children, amid ongoing military operations that have killed over 53,000 people since October 2023.

Despite Israel permitting a limited number of aid trucks into Gaza, international criticism has mounted, calling for Israel to halt its military campaign and ease aid restrictions .

Moreover, the United Nations has expressed concern for the unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza.

In his appeals, the Holy Father also remembered in a special way Pope Francis who passed away exactly a month ago, on 21 April 2025.

Pope Leo XIV’s first General Audience: Love does not calculate

In his first General Audience as Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV continued with Pope Francis' Jubilee series on the theme of “Jesus Christ, Our Hope.”

The new Pope carried on with his predecessor's reflection on the parables of Jesus, which Pope Leo said “help us to rediscover hope, because they show us how God acts in history.”

Pope Leo focused on the parable of the sower—“a rather unique parable, as it serves as a kind of introduction to all the others.” He pointed out how this story reveals how Jesus communicates, and it can give us guidance on how to proclaim the Gospel today.

While parables are taken from everyday life, their goal is to convey something more profound. They encourage us all to “raise questions within us; they invite us not to stop at appearances.”

Reflecting on the story, the Pope urged everyone to ask themselves two questions: Where am I in this story? What does this image say to my life?

In this parable of the sower, Pope Leo XIV explained that we can see God’s power and the impact it has on us.

“Every word of the Gospel is like a seed sown in the soil of our lives,” he shared, highlighting that the soil is not only our heart, “but also the world, the community, the Church.” There is no aspect of life that remains untouched by the Gospel.

People from all walks of life and backgrounds came out to listen to Jesus tell this parable. This shows us that “Jesus’ word is for everyone, but it works in each person differently,” which Pope Leo explained helps us understand the parable better. Each of us can draw something from the parable no matter our situation in life.

In the story, where the seeds fall seems to be of little concern to the sower, which the Pope pointed out symbolizes how God loves each and every one of us. “We are used to calculating and planning things, but love doesn’t work that way,” he said.

Pope Leo emphasized that God “scatters the seed of His word on every kind of soil—meaning, in every one of our situations.” Whether we receive it with enthusiasm, superficiality, or fear, God trusts that at one point or another the seed will bear fruit.

God “does not wait for us to become the best soil.” Rather, He gives us His word over and over again, and His word is Jesus.

Closing his reflection, Pope Leo XIV pondered Vincent van Gogh’s painting, The Sower at Sunset.

“What strikes me,” he shared, “is that, behind the sower, van Gogh painted the grain already ripe.” The Pope called this an image of hope that somehow the seed has borne fruit.

In the center of the painting is the sun—not the sower, which reminds us that “God drives history, even if He sometimes seems distant or hidden.”

Before praying the Our Father in Latin, Pope Leo XIV remembered his predecessor, Pope Francis, on the one month anniversary of his passing.

“And we cannot conclude our encounter without remembering with such gratitude our beloved Pope Francis, who exactly one month ago returned to the house of Our Father.”