By Vatican News, OSV News
Vatican News – “I’ll only say that we must pray very much for peace.”
Those were the words of Pope Leo XIV given in a brief statement to Italian television as he left Villa Barberini, his residence in Castel Gandolfo, where, as usual, he had spent his Tuesday both resting and working.
Asked by reporters about the situation in the Middle East, particularly the presence of a naval strike group led by the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in the waters of the Persian Gulf, the Pope reiterated his appeal for peace.
“We little ones can raise our voices and always seek dialogue and not violence to resolve these problems,” he said, “especially on this day when we commemorate the Shoah.”
Today being Holocaust Remembrance Day, Pope Leo reaffirmed what he had already said earlier in the day on his X account, @Pontifex: “Let us fight against all forms of antisemitism.”
Top photo caption: Pope Leo XIV leads his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Jan. 28, 2026. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
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