During a visit to a parish on the outskirts of Rome, Pope Leo XIV expressed deep concern over the Middle East situation, highlighting the tragedy of thousands of children killed in Gaza and a new conflict in Iran. He called for prayer for peace and rejection of violence. He also addressed the local drug problem in the neighborhood.
On March 1, 2026, Pope Leo XIV visited the parish of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Quarticciolo neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Rome. This was the third of five communities the pontiff is touring before Easter, the first papal visit in 46 years since John Paul II's on February 3, 1980.
Arriving in his white car around 3:49 p.m., the Pope was greeted by thousands of faithful, Cardinal Vicar Baldo Reina, and parish priest Daniele Canali. He interacted with children and youth, blessing the young ones and answering questions. A girl named Rachele welcomed him, while René asked about evil in the world and 29-year-old Federico from the Magis youth group hugged him.
In his main message, Leo XIV expressed concern over the war in the Middle East. "From this moment I am very worried, and we do not know how many days it will last, about the situation in the Middle East. War again! And we must be announcers of Jesus' peace, which God wants for all. We must pray a lot for peace, live in unity, and reject the temptation to harm the other; violence is never the right choice," he said, referring to the recent attack on Iran by Israel and the United States.
On Gaza, he highlighted the tragedy of affected children: "Many children have no family, home, food, a bed to sleep in. This is a tragedy in our midst. We have all seen in recent years some tragedies in Gaza, where many children have died, where they have been left without parents, without school, without a place to live. We must all seek the same response that Jesus tells us: to be promoters of peace, to seek solutions through dialogue and not violence".
Finally, he addressed the drug drama in the neighborhood, where many families suffer from occasional jobs and addictions. "We must learn to respect each other, to say no to things that harm and always choose the good, reject what harms health; for example, say no to drugs, a problem also here in this area! Always no to drugs and always yes to what does good," he urged the youth to give positive witness.
