Pope Leo celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call on Sunday to exercise hope against "the violence of war that kills and destroys".

With the war in Iran in its second month and Russia’s ongoing military campaign in Ukraine, Leo has repeatedly called for a halt in hostilities. In his Easter homily, the pope singled out those who wage war, abuse the weak and prioritise profits.

Leo, the first US-born pope, addressed the faithful from an open-air altar in St Peter’s Square flanked with white roses, while the steps leading down to the piazza where the faithful gathered were filled with spring perennials, symbolically resonating with the pope’s message of hope.

The pontiff implored the faithful to keep their hope in the face of death, which lurks "in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable.

"We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys," he said.

He quoted his predecessor Pope Francis in warning against falling into indifference in the face of "persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty".

On Tuesday, the pope had expressed hope that the war could be finished before Easter.

Christians in the Holy Land were marking a subdued Easter with traditional ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered by Christians as the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police.

Authorities have put limits on the sizes of public gatherings due to ongoing missile attacks.

The restrictions also dampened the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday, as well as the current weeklong Jewish festival of Passover. (AP)


Edited by Aaron Tam