For Pope Leo XIV, peace is an absolute priority, defined as “unarmed and disarming peace,” founded not on fear, but on love, justice, and dialogue. He considers it “holy” in contrast to wars, which he calls painful and destructive, and urges world leaders to have “the audacity to disarm” and to act with empathy and respect to build a future of peace.
Key concepts of his vision of peace
- Unarmed and disarming peace: Not based on the threat of weapons, but on being disarmed in the heart, in the will to dialogue and build trust.
- Refusal of war: Leo XIV considered war “never holy,” an expression that encapsulates his strong aversion to violence and its destructive effects.
- Peace in hearts: Authentic peace begins with the individual and extends to relationships, family, and community, pushing us to be “engines of reconciliation”
- Take concrete action: It is not enough to invoke peace; it must be embodied in a lifestyle that rejects all forms of violence and actively commits to transforming evil into good.
- The Importance of Youth: Highlights the importance of the young generation as bearers of hope and change, who are committed to building a better world.
Pope Leo XIV’S appeals for PEACE
“Peace be with you all! It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. Help us, one and all, to build bridges through dialogue and encounter” First Blessing, 8 May 2025
“Peace begins with each one of us: in the way we look at others, listen to others and speak about others.
We must say “no” to the war of words and images, we must reject the paradigm of war.
Therefore, your service, with the words you use and the style you adopt, is crucial. As you know, communication is not only the transmission of information, but it is also the creation of a culture, of human and digital environments that become spaces for dialogue and discussion.
Today, one of the most important challenges is to promote communication that can bring us out of the “Tower of Babel” in which we sometimes find ourselves, out of the confusion of loveless languages
We have shared them through every form of media: TV, radio, internet, and social media. I sincerely hope that each of us can say that these days unveiled a little bit of the mystery of our humanity and left us with a desire for love and peace.
Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred; let us free it from aggression. We do not need loud, forceful communication, but rather communication that is capable of listening and of gathering the voices of the weak who have no voice. Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world. Disarmed and disarming communication allows us to share a different view of the world and to act in a manner consistent with our human dignity”.
Address of the Holy Father Leo XIV tiìo the Representatives of the Media, May 12, 2025
“Non-violence, as a method and a style, must distinguish our decisions, our relationships and our actions”
Address to the Movements and Association of the “Arena of Peace, May 30, 2025
“We must never get used to war! Indeed, the temptation to have recourse to powerful and sophisticated weapons needs to be rejected”. General Audience, 18 june 2025
“Unarmed and disarming, the presence of Christians in contemporary societies must translate, with skill and imagination, the Gospel of the Kingdom into forms of development that provide alternatives to paths of growth without equity and sustainability”. Messagge to the Meeting for friendship among People, august 2025.
“There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others” Address to ACN, October 10, 2025.
“Lay down your sword” (cf. Jn 18:11). Disarm your hands and, even more importantly, your hearts. peace is unarmed and disarming. It is not deterrence, but fraternity; it is not an ultimatum, but dialogue.
“Blessed are you, the peacemakers” (Mt 5:9). We are dedicated to embodying the Lord’s profound words, making them a part of our very being, our legacy and our actions.
Blessed are you: God gives joy to those who spread love in the world and to those who choose to make peace with their enemies rather than defeat them.
Take courage, continue on your journey, you who are building the conditions for a future of peace, justice and forgiveness. Be gentle yet determined and never give up. Peace is a journey, and God walks with you. The Lord creates and spreads peace through his friends who are at peace in their hearts, and they in turn become peacemakers and instruments of his peace.
Meditation of the Holy Father, October 11, 2025
“War is never holy; only peace is holy, because it is willed by God! In the power of prayer, with hands raised to heaven and open to others, we must ensure that this period of history, marked by war and the arrogance of power, soon comes to an end, giving rise to a new era. We cannot allow this period to continue. It shapes the minds of people who grow accustomed to war as a normal part of human history. Enough! This is the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth. Enough! Lord, hear our cry!”
Address in the presence of Religious Leaders, October 28, 2025
To the young People
“You are the sign that a different world is possible: a world of fraternity and friendship, where conflicts are not resolved with weapons but with dialogue”. Angelus, August 3, 2025.
“What we need is to cultivate peace in our own hearts and in our relationships, to let it blossom in our daily actions, to work for reconciliation in our homes, our communities, our schools and workplaces, in the Church and among the Churches.
We are called to cultivate prayer and spirituality, together with action, as sources of peace and points of encounter between traditions and cultures.
Be the voice of those who have no voice in calling for justice and respect for human dignity. Be light and salt where the flame of faith and the taste for life are waning”. Address to the Mediterranean Youth Council, September 5, 2025.
To the consecrated and missionaries
“Our time presents itself to us as a millstone in which the pains of poverty, social divisions, the challenges of new technologies and sincere desires for peace continue to be ground into new flour that risks being fermented with bad yeast (cf. Mt 16:12). For this reason, the Lord calls you, today’s missionaries, to be the hands of the Church that place the leaven of the Risen One in the dough of history, so that hope may rise again”. Message to the CONAMI, November 2025.
