Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday offered to mediate between leaders of countries at war, saying that he himself "will make every effort so that this peace may prevail".

The new US pontiff, who became head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics last week, also called on Christians living in the Middle East not to abandon their homes, in a speech to members of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

"Who, better than you, can sing a song of hope even amid the abyss of violence?" he told the packed Paul VI hall at the Vatican, noting that "from the Holy Land to Ukraine, from Lebanon to Syria, from the Middle East to Tigray and the Caucasus, how much violence do we see!".

He urged them to pray for peace, adding: "For my part, I will make every effort so that this peace may prevail.

"The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace.

"The peoples of our world desire peace, and to their leaders I appeal with all my heart: Let us meet, let us talk, let us negotiate!".

Leo took over as pontiff from Pope Francis, who died on April 21 aged 88.

He was speaking at a pre-arranged event for the 2025 Jubilee holy year dedicated to the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, located across eastern Europe, the Middle East, India and parts of Africa.

In his appeal to end conflicts – a dominant theme in his addresses so far – Leo thanked those "sowing seeds of peace".

"I thank God for those Christians – Eastern and Latin alike – who, above all in the Middle East, persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them," he said.

"Christians must be given the opportunity, and not just in words, to remain in their native lands with all the rights needed for a secure existence. Please, let us strive for this!" (AFP)