Dear brothers and sisters, Your prayer is an expression of that faith which, according to the word of Jesus, can move mountains (cf. Mt 17:20). Thank you for accepting this invitation, gathering here at the tomb of Saint Peter, and in so many other places around the world to invoke peace.
War divides, hope unites. Arrogance tramples, love uplifts. Idolatry blinds, the living God illuminates. A little faith, a crumb of faith, dearest ones, is enough to face together, as humanity and with humanity, this dramatic hour in history. Prayer, in fact, is not a refuge to escape our responsibilities, it is not an anesthetic to avoid the pain that so much injustice unleashes. Instead, it is the most gratuitous, universal, and explosive response to death: we are a people already rising again! In each of us, in every human being, the inner Master teaches peace, impels us to encounter, inspires invocation. Let us then lift our gaze! Let us rise from the rubble! Nothing can lock us into a preordained destiny, not even in this world where there seem to be insufficient tombs, because we continue to crucify, to annihilate life, without rights and without mercy.
Saint John Paul II, a tireless witness to peace, spoke movingly in the context of the Iraq crisis in 2003: "I belong to that generation that lived through the Second World War and survived it. I have the duty to say to all young people, to those younger than me, who have not had this experience: 'Never again war!', as Paul VI said in his first visit to the United Nations. We must do everything possible! We know well that peace at any cost is not possible. But we all know how great this responsibility is" ( Angelus , March 16, 2003).
This evening, I make his appeal, so timely, my own. Prayer teaches us to act. In prayer, the limited human possibilities are united with the infinite possibilities of God. Thoughts, words, and deeds then break the demonic chain of evil and are placed at the service of the Kingdom of God: a Kingdom in which there is no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialization of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding, and forgiveness. Here we have a barrier to that delirium of omnipotence that around us is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive. The balance of the human family is gravely destabilized. Even the holy Name of God, the God of life, is drawn into discourses of death. A world of brothers and sisters with one Father in heaven disappears, and, as in a nightmare, reality is populated by enemies. Threats are felt everywhere, instead of calls to listen and encounter. Brothers and sisters, those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill and do not threaten death. Instead, those who have turned their backs on the living God are enslaved to death, to make themselves and their own power a mute, blind and deaf idol (cf. Ps 115:4-8), to whom they sacrifice every value and expect the entire world to bend the knee.
Enough with the idolatry of self and money! Enough with the display of force! Enough with war! True strength is manifested in serving life. Saint John XXIII, with evangelical simplicity, wrote: "Everyone benefits from peace: individuals, families, peoples, the entire human family." And repeating the lapidary words of Pius XII, he added: "Nothing is lost with peace. Everything can be lost with war" (Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris , 62). Let us, therefore, unite the moral and spiritual energies of millions, billions of men and women, of the elderly and young, who today believe in peace, who today choose peace, who heal the wounds and repair the damage left by the folly of war.
I receive many letters from children from conflict zones: reading them, one perceives, with the truth of innocence, all the horror and inhumanity of actions that some adults proudly boast about. Let us listen to the voices of children! Dear brothers and sisters, certainly, the leaders of nations have compelling responsibilities. We cry out to them: stop! This is the time for peace! Sit at the tables of dialogue and mediation, not at the tables where rearmament is planned and death is deliberated!
However, there is an equally great responsibility for all of us, men and women from so many different countries: an immense multitude that repudiates war, with deeds, not just words. Prayer commits us to convert what remains of violence in our hearts and minds: let us convert to a Kingdom of peace that is built day by day, in homes, schools, neighborhoods, civil and religious communities, conquering polemics and resignation with friendship and the culture of encounter. Let us return to believing in love, moderation, and good politics. Let us educate ourselves and engage in them firsthand, each responding to our own vocation. Everyone has their place in the mosaic of peace! The Rosary, like other ancient forms of prayer, has united us this evening in its regular rhythm, based on repetition: peace thus makes room, word after word, gesture after gesture, as a rock is eroded drop by drop, as on a loom the weaving advances movement after movement. These are the long times of life, a sign of God's patience. We need not to be overwhelmed by the acceleration of a world unsure of what it is chasing, so as to return to serving the rhythm of life, the harmony of creation, and to heal its wounds.
As Pope Francis has taught us, "we need artisans of peace, willing to initiate processes of healing and renewed encounter with ingenuity and boldness" (Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti , 225). Indeed, there is "an 'architecture' of peace, in which the various institutions of society intervene, each according to its own competence, but there is also a 'craftsmanship' of peace that involves us" ( ibid. , 231).
Dear brothers and sisters, let us return home with this commitment to pray always, tirelessly, and to a profound conversion of heart. The Church is a great people at the service of reconciliation and peace, advancing unwaveringly, even when rejecting the logic of war may cost her misunderstanding and contempt. She proclaims the Gospel of peace and teaches us to obey God rather than men, especially when it concerns the infinite dignity of other human beings, endangered by constant violations of international law. "Throughout the world, it is desirable that every community become a 'house of peace,' where people learn to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished. Today more than ever, in fact, we need to show that peace is not a utopia" ( Message for the 59th World Day of Peace , 1 January 2026).
Brothers and sisters of every language, people, and nation: we are one family that mourns, hopes, and rises again. "Never again war, an adventure without return; never again war, a spiral of grief and violence" (St. John Paul II, Prayer for Peace , February 2, 1991).
Dearest ones, peace be with you all! It is the peace of the risen Christ, the fruit of his loving sacrifice on the cross. Therefore, we turn our prayer to Him: Lord Jesus, you conquered death without weapons or violence: you dissolved its power with the strength of peace. Grant us your peace, as you did to the uncertain women on Easter morning, as you did to the hidden and frightened disciples. Send us your Spirit, the breath that gives life, that reconciles, that makes adversaries and enemies brothers and sisters. Inspire in us the trust of Mary, your mother, who stood with a broken heart beneath your cross, steadfast in the faith that you would rise again. May the madness of war end, and may the Earth be cared for and cultivated by those who still know how to generate, protect, and love life. Hear us, Lord of life!