Alarmed by the escalation of armed conflicts in the Middle East, Pope Leo XIV led a Saturday prayer vigil for peace in Vatican City, urging all to “return home having made a commitment to pray without ceasing and without growing weary, a commitment to a profound conversion of heart.”
The United States and Israel launched military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran on Feb. 28, over concerns related to its nuclear weapons ambitions and amassing of munitions. Despite having its leadership and military capabilities severely degraded by over 13,000 targeted sorties during Operation Epic Fury, the Iranian regime continued to lash out at its neighbors.
After Iran continued threatening the flow of global oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz with missile strikes and the laying of mines, President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
Similarly charged but ambiguous rhetoric from earlier in the conflict alarmed observers throughout the world. Having consistently called for diplomacy and for peace to prevail over violence throughout his not-yet-year-old pontificate, the first American-born pope issued an Easter Sunday invitation to join him in prayer Saturday at Saint Peter’s Basilica to “make heard the cry for peace that springs from our hearts!”
“I make a special plea to my brother bishops, the priests, the laity, and all people yearning for true peace to join the Holy Father’s Vigil for Peace, whether virtually, or in parishes, chapels, or before the Lord present in the quiet of their hearts to join with our Holy Father as we pray for peace in our world,” Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, echoed in a Tuesday statement promoting the Holy Father’s invitation.
“The threat of destroying a whole civilization and the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructure cannot be morally justified. There are other ways to resolve conflict between peoples. I call on President Trump to step back from the precipice of war and negotiate a just settlement for the sake of peace and before more lives are lost,” the archbishop added.
“Today, as we all know, there has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran. And this is truly unacceptable! There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more, it is a moral question concerning the good of the people as a whole, in its entirety,” the Holy Father told journalists Tuesday in Italian. “Come back to the table. Let’s talk. Let’s look for solutions in a peaceful way.”
An 11th-hour diplomatic breakthrough, less than two hours before the president’s deadline, postponed further military action by the U.S. against Iran.
“I urge that this period of delicate diplomatic work be accompanied by prayer,” the pope expressed during Wednesday’s public General Audience in Saint Peter’s Square.
While calling to mind conflicts simultaneously also raging in Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine, and Yemen, the roughly 75-minute prayer vigil was led by themes of peace and hope. The faithful recited the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, a popular Catholic devotion, and reflected during meditations from various Church Fathers, including St. Augustine of Hippo, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Ambrose of Milan. Notably, representatives of the faithful of different continents lit candles with the fire from the Lamp of Peace, a devotion from the hometown of St. Francis of Assisi, a famous advocate of peace.
“Dear brothers and sisters, there are certainly binding responsibilities that fall to the leaders of nations,” the 70-year-old Supreme Pontiff stated. “To them we cry out: Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned and deadly actions are decided!”
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!” he continued. “True strength is shown in serving life.”
“Prayer is not a refuge in which to hide from our responsibilities, nor an anesthetic to numb the pain provoked by so much injustice,” he added. “Rather, it is the most selfless, universal and transformative response to death: we are a people who are already risen!”
Notably, the pope referenced an earlier American conflict he experienced, echoing the same pleas for peace as one of his papal predecessors.
“In the context of the 2003 Iraq war crisis, Saint John Paul II, a tireless advocate for peace, said with deep emotion: ‘I belong to that generation that lived through World War II and, thanks be to God, survived it. I have the duty to say to all young people, to those who are younger than I, who have not had this experience: No more war as [Saint] Paul VI said during his first visit to the United Nations. We must do everything possible. We know well that peace is not possible at any price. But we all know how great is this responsibility,’” the current pontiff stated. “I make his appeal my own this evening, relevant as it is today.”
In response to a question during a Monday press conference asking if he believes God supports the U.S.’s actions in Iran, Trump expressed, “I do, because God is good. And God wants to see people taken care of.”
“God doesn’t like what’s happening. I don’t like what’s happening,” he continued. “Everyone says I enjoy it. I don’t enjoy this. I don’t enjoy it.”
“God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples,” the pope seemingly responded in a Friday post to X.
A March 20-23 poll of 1,001 randomly selected registered voters, conducted jointly by Republican pollster Shaw & Co. Research and Democratic pollster Beacon Research, found that 48% of Catholic respondents approve of Trump’s presidential actions while 52% disapprove. The poll’s margin of error is three percent.
Notably, only 40% of the Catholic respondents approve of Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran, while 60% disapprove. Forty-five percent of Catholic respondents both expressed support for military force against Iran and believed it was going well, while 55% opposed it and believed it wasn’t going well. Thirty-nine percent of Catholics also apparently believe the operations against Iran will make the U.S. safer, while 38% believe the opposite and 23% believe it will not make much of a difference. Seventy-four percent were also concerned about Iran’s nuclear weapon ambitions while 26% disagreed. Likewise, 73% of Catholic respondents said it was important to reduce Iran’s support of terrorism, while 27% disagreed.
The poll also found 71% of Catholic respondents value ending Iran’s nuclear program, while 29% disagreed. Likewise, 71% of Catholic respondents support protecting the flow of oil from the region, while 29% disagreed. Sixty-one percent also saw value in changing Iran’s government, while 39% disagreed.
“All of President Trump’s foreign policy actions have made the world safer, more stable, and more prosperous,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. “Catholic Americans resoundingly supported President Trump in 2024, and the President’s administration has a positive relationship with the Vatican, which was strengthened when Vice President Vance attended the Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass last year.”
“The President has done more than any of his predecessors to save lives and resolve global conflicts, and following the completion of his military objectives in Iran, he is hopeful that the agreement under discussion can lead to a lasting peace in the Middle East,” Kelly added.
Trump won the Catholic share of the 2024 electorate — estimated to be 22% — by a 12-point margin, 55% compared to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s 43%, according to Pew Research. Former Vice President Joe Biden won 50% of the Catholic electorate in 2020, however, while Trump won 49%.
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