Pope Leo XIV hopped on X (formerly Twitter) this week and posted a bunch of tweets about where the Church stands on today’s global conflicts.
It happened just days after the announcement came on May 8. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, officially took over as the new leader of the Catholic Church.
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A surprising debut from the new pope
Before even settling fully into his new role, Pope Leo was already making some noise online. He had previously clashed with the Trump administration and now opened a fresh account under his new papal name.
And this time, he had a lot to say.
X doesn’t feel holy, but it works
Let’s be honest. Seeing a pope tweet can feel kind of weird. Like, is this really happening?
But with Pope Leo, it somehow felt just right.
The pope’s first tweet sets a peaceful tone
Taking to Twitter on May 14, Pope Leo’s account wrote: “Peace be with you all! This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd.
“I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.”
Quoting past popes, he links the old and new
Pope Leo brought in the words of his third predecessor, who once said the “preservation of the Eastern rites is more important than is realized.”
He followed that up by calling on people to “embrace the appeal to safeguard and promote the Christian East, especially in the diaspora.”
The Christian East holds deep spiritual value
He added something thoughtful about that spiritual tradition: “The ancient, yet ever new spiritualities of the Christian East offer a healing balm.
“They merge an awareness of human misery with awe for divine mercy, so that our lowliness never leads to despair but invites us to welcome grace.”
He doesn’t hold back on war and violence
The pope didn’t sugarcoat anything. He called out the “violence” and “wars” happening in the world and said this “horror” should make people feel outraged.
So many are dying because of military power, and through it all, he reminded everyone of Christ’s words: “Peace be with you.”
Peace, to him, isn’t just no fighting
Pope Leo made it clear that peace isn’t just what’s left after war ends. He said “Christ’s peace is not the silence of the tomb after a conflict, and it is not the result of subjugation.”
He talked about real peace being something that helps people start fresh. A gift that looks like “reconciliation, forgiveness and courage,” and something we all need to “pray for.”
He says the Church is ready to help
With all the war zones around the world — Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, Syria — Pope Leo said the Holy See is open to stepping in and helping with talks in any way it can.
He made it sound like the Church isn’t just watching from the sidelines.
Pushing the idea that war is never the only option
The last tweet in the series had a strong ending: “War is never inevitable. Weapons can and must fall silent, for they never solve problems but only intensify them.
“Those who sow peace will endure throughout history, not those who reap victims. Others are not enemies to hate but human beings with whom to speak.”
Of course, people didn’t ignore the tweets. Far from it. In just a few days, the pope’s new account pulled in 18.6 million followers.
Replies poured in too. One person wrote, “Your message of peace is important, now more than ever.”
