Pope Leo XIV leads a vigil for peace inside St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Saturday, April 11, 2026.
Gregorio Borgia/AP
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Gregorio Borgia/AP
ROME (AP) — In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday condemned the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and called on political leaders to stop it and negotiate peace.
Leo presided over an evening prayer service at St. Peter’s Basilica on the same day that the United States and Iran began face-to-face talks in Pakistan and a fragile ceasefire was held.
The first American-born Pope in history did not mention the United States or President Donald Trump in his prayer, which was planned before the talks were announced. But Leo’s tone and message appeared to be directed at Trump and US officials, who have claimed US military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and wealth!” Leo said. “Enough displays of power! Enough wars!”
In the basilica pews was the Archbishop of Tehran, Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu of Belgium. The US Embassy said the US was represented in the diplomatic corps by its deputy chief of mission Laura Hochla.
In the first weeks of the war, the Chicago-born Leo was initially reluctant to publicly condemn the violence and limited his comments to subdued appeals for peace and negotiations. But Leo intensified his criticism from Palm Sunday. And this week, he said Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization was “truly unacceptable” and called for further negotiations.
On Saturday, Leo called on all people of good will to pray for peace and demand an end to the war from their political leaders. The evening vigil in Rome, which included readings of Scripture and meditative recitation of the Rosary prayers, was taking place while local prayer services were being held simultaneously in the United States and beyond.
Praying for peace is a way to “break the demonic cycle of evil,” Leo said, in order to build the Kingdom of God where there will be no swords, drones or “unjust advantages.”
“This is where we find a protective shield against the illusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and invasive,” he said. “Even the holy name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death.”
Leaders have used religion to justify their actions in war. American officials, and especially Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have invoked their Christian faith to position America as a Christian nation seeking to defeat its enemies.
Leo has said that God does not bless any war, and certainly not those who drop bombs.
Leo presided over the service, sitting at the side of the altar on a white throne, wearing a formal red hat and religious stole, and praying with a rosary in his hands. In the pews several priests and nuns passed rosary beads during the “Our Father” and “Hail Mary” prayers.
The Vatican is particularly concerned about the spread of Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, given the plight of Christian communities in the south.
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