By NICOLE WINFIELD
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV referred to as Wednesday for humanitarian assist to succeed in the Gaza Strip and for an finish to the “heartbreaking” toll on its folks, as he presided over his first normal viewers in St. Peter’s Sq..
The Vatican mentioned that round 40,000 folks had been readily available for the viewers, which got here simply days after an estimated 200,000 folks attended the inaugural Mass on Sunday for historical past’s first American pope.
Leo, the previous Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago, started the viewers with a tour by way of the piazza within the popemobile and stopped to bless a number of infants. In addressing particular greetings to totally different teams of pilgrims, Leo spoke in his native English, his fluent Spanish in addition to the standard Italian of the papacy.
“I renew my heartfelt attraction to permit the doorway of dignified humanitarian assist to Gaza and to place an finish to the hostilities whose heartbreaking value is being paid by kids, the aged and sick folks,” he mentioned.
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Pope Leo XIV leaves after his first weekly normal viewers in St. Peter’s Sq. at The Vatican, Wednesday, Might 21, 2025. (AP Photograph/Gregorio Borgia)
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Pope Leo XIV leaves after his first weekly normal viewers in St. Peter’s Sq. at The Vatican, Wednesday, Might 21, 2025. (AP Photograph/Gregorio Borgia)
The final viewers on Wednesdays is a weekly appointment that popes have stored for many years to permit odd devoted to have a face-to-face encounter with the pontiff. It options the pope delivering a quick reflection on a theme or Scripture passage, with summaries offered by others in several languages and the pope directing particular messages to explicit religion teams.
The encounter, which lasts greater than an hour, often ends with a quick topical attraction by the pope a few present challenge or upcoming occasion. Leo started it along with his now-frequent mantra “Peace be with you.”
To that finish, Leo on Tuesday reaffirmed the Vatican’s willingness to host the subsequent spherical of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine throughout a telephone name with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, the Italian chief’s workplace mentioned.
Meloni made the decision after talking with U.S. President Donald Trump and different European leaders, who requested her to confirm the Holy See’s supply.
“Discovering within the Holy Father the affirmation of the willingness to welcome the subsequent talks between the events, the premier expressed profound gratitude for Pope Leo XIV’s willingness and his incessant dedication in favor of peace,” Meloni’s workplace mentioned in an announcement late Tuesday.
Trump had referred to the Vatican’s longstanding supply to host talks in reporting on his telephone name Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Whereas low-level talks may happen in Rome, Italy can be hard-pressed to permit Putin to fly into Rome for any higher-level negotiation. Putin is topic to a global arrest warrant from the Worldwide Legal Court docket, of which Italy is a founding member and due to this fact obliged to execute its warrants.
Related Press faith protection receives assist by way of the AP’s collaboration with The Dialog US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely liable for this content material.
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