{"id":26486,"date":"2026-05-09T13:23:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T13:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/26486\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T13:23:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T13:23:26","slug":"pope-leo-calls-for-end-to-fratricidal-hatred-during-pompeii-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/26486\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo calls for end to fratricidal hatred during Pompeii trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

POMPEII, Italy (AP) \u2014 Pope Leo XIV prayed Friday for political leaders to end the \u201cfratricidal hatred\u201d in the world, as he spent the anniversary of his election<\/a> in the ancient city of Pompeii commemorating a feast day that is particularly important to him and coincided last year with the start of his pontificate.<\/a><\/p>\n

Leo traveled by helicopter to Pompeii, near Naples, for a daylong visit to mark the May 8 feast of Our Lady of Pompeii. The date marks the day in 1876, when the cornerstone for a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Pompeii was laid.<\/p>\n

The sanctuary is located near the excavations of the city that was buried in A.D. 79,<\/a> when Mount Vesuvius erupted and spewed volcanic ash and gas across the region. While the Pompeii archaeological site draws millions of tourists each year, the sanctuary attracts Catholic pilgrims who are particularly devoted to praying the rosary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a beautiful day, how many blessings the Lord wanted to give to all of us,\u201d Leo told throngs of faithful inside the sanctuary before Mass. \u201cI feel I am the first blessed to be able to come here to the sanctuary of the Madonna on the day of her feast and on this anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n

The visit kicked off a series of day trips that Leo will be making over the next few weeks, up and down the Italian peninsula, as he gets to know better the Italian church of which he is the symbolic head as bishop of Rome.<\/p>\n

A prayer for leaders to be enlightened to pursue peace<\/p>\n

In his homily at the sanctuary, Leo entrusted his pontificate to the Virgin Mary and prayed for peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot resign ourselves to the images of death that the news presents to us every day,\u201d Leo said. \u201cMay the God of peace pour out an overflowing abundance of mercy, touching hearts, soothing grudges and fratricidal hatred, and enlightening those who bear special responsibilities of governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday marked the anniversary of the election of the former Robert Prevost<\/a> as history\u2019s first U.S.-born pope. Leo had referred to the Pompeii feast day on the night of his election, when he emerged on the loggia of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica and was introduced to the world. That night, he led the faithful in the piazza below in a prayer for his pontificate.<\/p>\n

He said then that Mary, the mother of Christ, \u201calways wants to walk at our side, to remain close to us, to help us with her intercession and her love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us pray together for this new mission, for the whole church, for peace in the world, and let us ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace,\u201d Leo said then.<\/p>\n

The Pompeii sanctuary is closely associated with the figure of St. Bartolo Longo, who founded the basilica and is venerated especially in Italy for his charitable works for orphans, prisoners and other marginalized people. Pope Francis had approved the miracle necessary for Longo\u2019s canonization from his hospital room, just a few weeks before he died, and Leo made him a saint in October.<\/p>\n

Pompeii welcomes Leo<\/p>\n

Leo opened his visit to Pompeii by meeting with sick and disabled people who are cared for by a charity center affiliated with the sanctuary, which Leo\u2019s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, declared a pontifical basilica in 1901.<\/p>\n

In his opening remarks, Leo recalled that when Longo arrived in the Pompeii valley, \u201che found a land plagued by great poverty, inhabited by a few very poor farmers, and ravaged by malaria and bandits.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was able to see, however, the face of Christ in everyone: in the great and the small, and especially in the orphans and the children of prisoners, to whom he made the beating of God\u2019s heart felt through his tenderness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Leo was met by throngs of cheering Italians, some of whom had been waiting since the middle of the night to greet him. They seemed keenly aware of Leo\u2019s recent sparring with U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> over the Iran war, and said they liked what they saw.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t let anyone intimidate him. Look at the recent issues with Trump,\u201d said Rita Borriello, from nearby Torre del Greco. Trump criticized him, but Leo \u201csimply answered, \u2018I preach the Gospel\u2019. I see him as a very humble pope, very close to us, a pope who entered in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Winfield reported from Rome.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration<\/a> with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"POMPEII, Italy (AP) \u2014 Pope Leo XIV prayed Friday for political leaders to end the \u201cfratricidal hatred\u201d in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26487,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[16238,1277,2945,38,50,8,2727,16236,9,2055,2057,969,16237,7,106],"class_list":{"0":"post-26486","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-bartolo-longo","9":"tag-catholic-church","10":"tag-christianity","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-general-news","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-italy","15":"tag-naples","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-pope-francis","18":"tag-pope-leo-xiv","19":"tag-religion","20":"tag-rita-borriello","21":"tag-top-stories","22":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116544838235808386","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}