#Vatican – On April 11th, 2026, at 18:00 CET, a prayer vigil for peace was held in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican State. In a call to all faithful across the world, Pope Leo XIV intended to bring together worldwide Christians for the purpose of petitioning God in prayer for global peace, especially a peaceful resolution to the Iran War and Russo-Ukraine War. The vigil was open to the faithful with no ticket required and broadcast live worldwide, with many dioceses and parishes holding synchronized or local vigils. Earlier in the week, the Iran War entered into a tentative ceasefire pending further negotiations taking place in Pakistan, while Russia and Ukraine also entered into a temporary truce to recognize Orthodox Easter from April 11-12th. However, Israel remains determined to continue its invasion of Lebanon, which has resulted in tension that the two-week ceasefire will not hold and both sides are taking the ceasefire to re-mobilize to continue the conflict.
Pope Leo XIV first announced the vigil during his Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi message and renewed the invitation at his General Audience on April 8th. He called on the global community of faithful Christians and people of goodwill to join in prayer amid ongoing conflicts. The event aimed to make heard the “cry for peace that springs from our hearts,” emphasizing that peace is a gift from the Risen Christ that transforms hearts, not just silences weapons, and must be accompanied by action and dialogue.
Before the main vigil inside the Basilica, Pope Leo XIV made a surprise visit to St. Peter’s Square to greet and bless the overflow crowd unable to enter. He urged them to become “bearers of peace” and invoked Mary, Queen of Peace. Afterwards, the vigil began inside the Basilica with a rosary centered on the Glorious Mysteries with meditations drawn from early Church Fathers such as St. Augustine of Hippo, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Ambrose of Milan. The themes focused on peace, hope, and conversion to Christ’s peace. Faithful from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania lit five candles using the flame from the Lamp of Peace in Assisi, which burns perpetually at the tomb of St. Francis. This gesture symbolized unity in prayer across the world.
After the rosary, Pope Leo XIV made an address and petition for peace, saying, “war divides; hope unites. Arrogance tramples upon others; love lifts up. Idolatry blinds us; the living God enlightens.” He further called out the motivations of these wars, saying, “enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life.” The vigil concluded at the end of this address.
Pope Leo XIV has spoken on the subject of peace and peaceful diplomacy since the start of the year when the United States kidnapped Venezuela’s President on January 3rd, 2026. In Pope Leo’s “state-of-the-world” address on January 19th, 2026, the pope condemned the shift of diplomatic policy of the Trump administration from dialogue to brute force. As a result of this speech, the United States summoned the Vatican ambassador to the Pentagon on January 22nd, 2026, to condemn the pope’s speech and attempt to intimidate the Vatican official to shift its stance. As a result of this meeting, speculation arose that Pope Leo cancelled his invitation to the United States for the country’s 250th anniversary on July 4th, 2026. Since the start of the Iran War on February 28th, 2026, Pope Leo has not backed down in his condemnation of the U.S. and Israeli government in their respective actions in Iran, as well as Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, especially with the rhetoric spewed by U.S. officials, the Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump.
Since the start of the war, tensions have exhibited between Evangelical Christians and Catholic Christians, especially as the Trump administration began to promote an Evangelical Fundamentalism, resulting in complaints from U.S. military service personnel at the start of the war. These complaints followed with a veiled tension between Evangelicals and Catholics, which was most noticeable on Good Friday when a Protestant-exclusive service was held. The Pentagon responded to these criticisms explaining that no Catholic priest was available for a Catholic service on that day.
See also: US Senator Ted Cruz under fire for anti-Christian views, White House official, Paula White, urges Christians to ‘tithe’ 10% of their earnings to funds projects in Israel
The vigil occurred on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, reinforcing messages of hope, conversion, and rejecting indifference to violence. Many Catholic communities worldwide participated in solidarity, with local Rosaries, Adoration, or Holy Hours timed to coincide with the Vatican event.
Image: Pope Leo XIV (left) seen during the prayer vigil with the statue of Mary (right) where candles were lit by representative of the faithful from five continents.
