Pope Leo’s first World Peace Day message draws from his first public greeting

['Cindy Wooden - Catholic News Service', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] News - America Magazine 2025-08-26 00:00:00

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV’s first World Peace Day message will expand on the prayer he expressed the night of his election when addressing the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square. The Vatican announced the theme of Pope Leo’s message for 2026 will be: “Peace be with you all: Towards an ‘unarmed and disarming’ peace.”The Catholic Church celebrates a world day of prayer for peace each Jan. 1. The pope’s message for the day usually is released in early December and is shared with heads of state around the world by Vatican ambassadors. The pope also personally gives a copy of the message to visiting government leaders throughout the year. Also Aug. 26, the Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Vatican publishing house, announced it was releasing a book collecting Pope Leo’s first speeches.