Pope Leo ​said on Sunday (March 29, 2026) that God rejects the prayers of ⁠leaders who start wars and have “hands full of blood”, in unusually forceful remarks as the Iran war entered its second month.

Addressing tens of thousands in ‌St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday, the celebration that opens the holy week leading up to Easter for the world’s ‌1.4 billion Catholics, the pontiff called the conflict “atrocious” and said ‌Jesus ⁠cannot be used to justify any wars.

Iran-Israel war updates on March 29, 2026

“This is our ⁠God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Leo, the first U.S. pope, told crowds in brilliant sunshine.

“[Jesus] does not ​listen to the prayers ‌of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood’,” he said, citing a Bible passage.

Pope Leo did not specifically ‌name any world leaders, but he has been ramping up ​criticism of the Iran war in recent weeks.

During an appeal at the end of Sunday’s celebration, the pope ⁠lamented that Christians in the Middle East “are suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict” and may not be able to celebrate Easter.

The pope, ‌who is known for choosing his words carefully, has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict and said on Monday (March 23, 2026) that military airstrikes are indiscriminate and should be banned.

Some U.S. officials have invoked Christian language to justify the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 that initiated the expanding war.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete ‌Hegseth, who has started leading Christian prayer services at the Pentagon, prayed at ​a service on Wednesday (March 25, 2026) for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy”.

In his homily on Sunday (March 29, 2026), Pope Leo ⁠referenced a Bible passage in which Jesus, about to be arrested ahead of ⁠his crucifixion, rebuked one of his followers for striking the person arresting him with a sword.

“[Jesus] did not arm himself, ‌or defend himself, or fight any war,” Leo said. “He revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence. Rather than ​saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross.”

Israeli police prevented the Latin Patriarch of ‌Jerusalem from marking Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre “for the first time ​in centuries,” the Patriarchate said, with police citing security concerns linked to the Iran war.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa ⁠and Friar Francesco Ielpo were stopped by police while walking to the church, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said.

Iran-Israel war updates on March 29, 2026

“As a result, and for the first time in ‌centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” it said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “There ‌was no malicious intent whatsoever, only concern for his [Pizzaballa’s] safety and that of his party.” He said preparations ‌were ⁠in place to allow church leaders to worship at the church in the coming days.

Israeli police ⁠said all holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City –including those sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews – had been closed to worshippers since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, particularly locations without bomb shelters.

Police said they had rejected a request from the Patriarchate for a Palm ​Sunday exemption. “The Old City and the holy ‌sites constitute a complex area that does not allow access for large emergency and rescue vehicles, which significantly challenges response capabilities and poses a real risk to human life in the event of a mass casualty incident,” police said.

Restrictions affect Easter, Ramadan, Passover

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the most important week in ‌the Christian calendar, leading to Easter. The Old City would typically be busy, with Roman Catholics passing through ​the massive wooden doors of the Holy Sepulchre. This year, Christians, Muslims and Jews have been unable to observe Easter, Ramadan or Passover as usual due to police restrictions. Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa ⁠Mosque was largely empty during Ramadan, and few worshippers have come to Judaism’s Western Wall as Passover approaches on Wednesday (March 25, 2026).

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised the police action and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on social media that he would summon ‌Israel’s ambassador over the incident. France’s President Emmanuel Macron condemned the Israeli police’s decision, which he said “adds to the worrying increase in violations of the status of the Holy Places in Jerusalem.” U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said denying the Patriarch’s entry to the church on Palm Sunday was “difficult to understand or justify.”

The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment. On Sunday (March 29, 2026), Pope Leo said that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have “hands full of blood”, in unusually forceful remarks as the Iran war entered its second month.

Inconsistent enforcement, residents say

On ‌March 16, shrapnel from ballistic missiles fired by Iran and debris from Israeli interceptors that shot them down fell by the church ​and the nearby hilltop plateau known to Muslims as Al-Aqsa compound and to Jews as Temple Mount. Residents of the Old City and religious officials said police restrictions on worship had not been ⁠implemented consistently.

They noted that Muslim Waqf preachers were able to access Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, and that ⁠cleaners were permitted ahead of Passover to remove prayer notes from the Western Wall, an annual ritual.

On Sunday (March 29, 2026), Franciscan friars and worshippers were also allowed into another Old City shrine, a short walk through ‌the Old City’s narrow alleyways from the Holy Sepulchre, to mark Palm Sunday. A Reuters photograph showed around a dozen people bowing their heads in prayer and carrying palm fronds.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday (March 29, 2026) rejected claims that God justifies war and prayed especially for Christians in the Middle East during a Palm Sunday Mass before tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square.

With the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entering its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo dedicated his Palm Sunday homily to insisting that God is the “king of peace” who rejects violence and comforts those who are oppressed.

“Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Pope Leo said. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used religion to justify their actions. U.S. officials, especially Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, have invoked their Christian faith to cast the war as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes with military might.

Russia’s Orthodox Church, too, has justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war” against a Western world it considers has fallen into evil.

Palm Sunday marks Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.

In a special blessing at the end of Mass, Pope Leo said he was praying especially for Christians in the Middle East who are “suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict. In many cases, they cannot live the rites of these holy days.” Earlier Sunday, the Latin Patriarchate said Jerusalem police prevented the Catholic church’s top leadership from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was the first time in centuries that church leaders were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday at the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, the Patriarchate said.

Pope Leo said that during Holy Week, Christians cannot forget how many people around the world are suffering as Christ did. “Their trials appeal to the conscience of all. Let us raise our prayers to the Prince of Peace so that he may support people wounded by war and open concrete paths of reconciliation and peace,” Pope Leo said.

A Holy Week that recalls Pope Francis’ suffering

When Holy Week opened last year, Pope Francis was still recovering at the Vatican after a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia. He had delegated the liturgical celebrations to others, but rallied on Easter Sunday to greet the faithful from the loggia of St. Peter’s Square. Most poignantly, he then made what became his final popemobile loop around the piazza.

Pope Francis died the following morning, Easter Monday, after suffering a stroke. His nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, later told Vatican Media that Francis had told him: “Thank you for bringing me back to the square” for the final salute.

Pope Leo is due to preside over this week’s liturgical appointments and is returning to tradition with the Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony that commemorates Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples.

During his 12-year pontificate,Pope Francis famously celebrated the Holy Thursday ritual by travelling to Rome-area prisons and refugee centres to wash the feet of people on society’s margins. His aim was to drive home the ritual’s message of service and humility, and he would frequently muse during his Holy Thursday homilies, “Why them and not me?” Pope Francis’ gesture had been praised as a tangible evidence of his belief that the church must go to the peripheries to find those most in need of God’s love and mercy. But some critics bristled at the annual outings, especially since Francis would also wash the feet of Muslims and people of other faiths.

Leo restores Holy Week foot-washing tradition

Pope Leo, history’s first U.S.-born Pope, is returning the Holy Thursday foot-washing tradition to the basilica of St. John Lateran, where popes performed it for decades. The Vatican hasn’t yet said who will participate, though Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II normally washed the feet of 12 priests.

On Friday, Pope Leo is due to preside over the Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum commemorating Christ’s Passion and crucifixion. Saturday brings the late-night Easter Vigil, during which Leo will baptise new Catholics, followed a few hours later by Easter Sunday, when Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.

Pope Leo will celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square and then deliver his Easter blessing from the loggia of the basilica.