On August 31, 2025, the heart of the Catholic world pulsed with both sorrow and hope as Pope Leo XIV addressed thousands gathered in Saint Peter’s Square for the traditional Sunday Angelus. The Pope’s words, delivered with a blend of solemnity and urgency, resonated far beyond Rome, touching communities reeling from violence and tragedy across continents.
As reported by BBC and Vatican News, Pope Leo XIV began his address with a prayer for the victims of a deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The incident, which occurred during a school Mass the previous week, left the local community—and indeed, many around the globe—shaken. In English, the Pope intoned, “Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American State of Minnesota include the countless children killed and injured every day around the world.” His voice, though calm, carried the weight of collective grief.
But Pope Leo’s message extended well beyond the borders of Minnesota. He broadened his prayer to embrace “the countless children killed and injured every day around the world,” drawing attention to the ongoing and widespread toll of violence. “Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world,” he urged, a sentiment echoed in both his English and Italian remarks. The Pope’s use of the phrase “pandemic of arms” was pointed, likening the proliferation of weapons to a disease that knows no boundaries and spares no one.
In a moment that blended spiritual tradition with contemporary urgency, Pope Leo invoked the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, asking for her intercession to help fulfill the ancient prophecy of Isaiah: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” The reference, drawn from Isaiah 2:4, was more than a scriptural flourish—it was a call to transform instruments of violence into tools for peace and productivity.
Turning to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Pope Leo XIV’s appeal grew even more direct. As Russia intensified attacks on Ukrainian cities, the Pope reiterated his longstanding call for a ceasefire and for global leaders to abandon the “logic of weapons.” He implored, “The voice of weapons must fall silent, and the voice of fraternity and justice must prevail.” The Pope’s words, reported by Vatican News, underscored his unwavering commitment to peace and his empathy for those suffering from the war’s devastation.
“It is time for those in power to abandon the logic of weapons and to take up the path of negotiation and peace, with the support of the international community,” he said, urging not only leaders but all people to resist indifference. He called on the faithful to draw near in prayer and to support concrete acts of charity, emphasizing, “We must not succumb to indifference.”
His reflection on the Gospel reading from Luke 14:1, 7-14, offered a spiritual counterpoint to the day’s grim news. Pope Leo spoke of humility—how, too often, life is reduced to a competition for recognition and status. “It is very important that we see ourselves through his eyes: to see how frequently we reduce life to a competition, how anxious we become to obtain some sort of recognition, and how pointlessly we compare ourselves to others,” he observed. He described humility as “really freedom from ourselves,” a liberation that allows Christians to look beyond their own ambitions toward a greater good. “Dear friends, today let us pray that the Church will always be a school of humility for everyone, a home where all are welcome, a place where rivalries are set aside and where Jesus still speaks to us and teaches us to imitate his own humility and freedom.”
The Pope’s address did not end with prayers for Minneapolis and Ukraine. He turned his attention to a devastating tragedy off the coast of Mauritania, where, according to the BBC, at least 69 migrants died and nearly 100 more went missing after their boat capsized on August 26, 2025. Seventeen people were rescued, but the scale of the loss was staggering. Survivors recounted that the vessel had left The Gambia six days before the disaster struck. “This deadly tragedy is repeated every day around the world,” Pope Leo lamented, highlighting the ongoing peril faced by migrants seeking safety and opportunity.
He urged the faithful to heed the words of Christ: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” The Pope’s prayer was not only for the dead but also for a world that too often turns its back on those in desperate need. “Let us pray that the Lord may teach us, as individuals and as a society, to fully put into practice His word: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’.” In closing, he entrusted “all our injured, missing, and dead, everywhere, to our Saviour’s loving embrace.”
Amid these global concerns, Pope Leo also reminded the crowd of the approaching World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1, a tradition established by Pope Francis a decade ago. The day serves as a call for environmental stewardship and spiritual reflection, underscoring the interconnectedness of peace, justice, and care for the planet.
Pope Leo’s remarks were a tapestry of grief, hope, admonition, and prayer. He managed to weave together the sorrows of disparate communities—from the pews of Minneapolis to the shores of Mauritania, from the battered cities of Ukraine to the fields of Isaiah’s prophecy—into a single, urgent appeal for peace, humility, and compassion. His words, delivered in both English and Italian, resonated with listeners of every background, reminding them that the tragedies of the world are not isolated incidents but symptoms of deeper wounds that require collective healing.
Throughout his Angelus address, the Pope’s message was clear: the world’s wounds—whether inflicted by violence, war, or neglect—demand not only prayer but also action. He called on leaders to choose negotiation over conflict, on communities to welcome the stranger, and on each individual to practice humility and charity. In a world too often divided by rivalry and fear, his appeal for fraternity and justice rang out as both a challenge and an invitation.
As the bells of Saint Peter’s faded, the Pope’s words lingered—a reminder that faith, when paired with humility and courage, can be a powerful force for change. The tragedies of Minneapolis, Ukraine, and Mauritania may seem worlds apart, but in the eyes of Pope Leo XIV, they are chapters in a single story: the ongoing struggle for peace, dignity, and hope in a wounded world.
