World

Pope Leo, after Rubio meeting, asks God to inspire leaders to calm tensions

By Guglielmo Mangiapane and Joshua McElwee Reuters

Updated May 8, 2026 10:38 AM

Pope Leo XIV venerates the reliquary containing ampoules of what local Roman Catholics believe is the blood of St. Gennaro at the Naples Cathedral during a meeting with members of the clergy on the day of the first anniversary of his election, in Naples, Italy, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi — Pope Leo XIV venerates the reliquary containing ampoules of what local Roman Catholics believe is the blood of St. Gennaro at the Naples Cathedral during a meeting with members of the clergy on the day of the first anniversary of his election, in Naples, Italy, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi Yara Nardi REUTERS

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POMPEI, Italy, May 8 (Reuters) - Pope Leo asked that God would inspire world leaders to calm global tensions and reduce hatred in an address to mark his first anniversary as head of the Catholic Church, a day after he met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican.

Leo, who has drawn the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump after criticizing the Iran war, asked worshippers on Friday to pray that global governments would turn away from violence.

In a visit to Pompei, a modern city about 245 km (152 miles) south of Rome near the famed ruins of a volcanic eruption, the pope said he would join their prayers that God would begin "touching hearts, calming rancour and fratricidal hatreds, and enlightening those who have special responsibilities of government".

Leo, the first U.S. pope, held talks with Rubio on Thursday in an atmosphere of tension with Washington as Trump has repeatedly disparaged the pontiff on social media.

The Vatican said afterwards that the two had pledged to improve their bilateral relations, in what insiders said was an unusual recognition of unprecedented tensions.

The U.S. embassy to the Holy See said on X after the meeting that Leo and Rubio had discussed "topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere".

Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected by the world's cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church on May 8, 2025.

Prevost, who spent decades as a missionary and a bishop in Peru before becoming pope, kept a relatively low profile in his first 10 months but has been speaking forcefully against war and despotism in recent weeks.

In his message to thousands in Pompei's main square on Friday, the pontiff lamented that world peace is "endangered by international tensions and by an economy that prefers the arms trade to respect for human life".

He urged people not to become accustomed to war.

"We cannot resign ourselves to the images of death that the news shows us every day," said Leo.

In a later visit on Friday to Naples, Italy's third-largest city, the pope praised initiatives by groups there to welcome refugees coming to Italy from Gaza.

Leo urged Neapolitans to "continue to give voice ... to a culture of peace, countering the logic of confrontation and the force of arms as the presumed solution to conflicts."

(Reporting by Guglielmo Mangiapane in Pompei and Joshua McElwee in Vatican City; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Andrew Heavens)

Pope Leo XIV waves to the faithful while travelling in the popemobile along the waterfront with Mount Vesuvius in the background, on the day of the first anniversary of his election in Naples, Italy, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Remo Casilli — Pope Leo XIV waves to the faithful while travelling in the popemobile along the waterfront with Mount Vesuvius in the background, on the day of the first anniversary of his election in Naples, Italy, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Remo Casilli Remo Casilli Reuters

Pope Leo XIV waves as he arrives in Popemobile at the Naples Cathedral for a meeting with members of the clergy on the day of the first anniversary of his election, in Naples, Italy, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi — Pope Leo XIV waves as he arrives in Popemobile at the Naples Cathedral for a meeting with members of the clergy on the day of the first anniversary of his election, in Naples, Italy, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi Yara Nardi Reuters

Pope Leo XIV leads a holy Mass in Piazza Bartolo Longo in front of the Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei, on the first anniversary of his election, in Pompei, Italy, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane — Pope Leo XIV leads a holy Mass in Piazza Bartolo Longo in front of the Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei, on the first anniversary of his election, in Pompei, Italy, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane Guglielmo Mangiapane Reuters

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 9:34 AM.