Pope Leo celebrates first Easter amid Middle East war

POPE Leo XIV is preparing to celebrate Easter for the first time as pontiff a year after his predecessor's death, as concerns grow among Christians over the Middle East war.

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POPE Leo XIV leads a mass for Palm Sunday at St Peter's square in the Vatican. I AFP

(AFP)

Holy Week began with a clash in the Holy Land as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Italian Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was denied entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by Israeli authorities in what he called a first “in centuries”.

This week, Leo said he hoped that US President Donald Trump was “looking for an off-ramp” to end the war, as he called for an end to the violence.

“We are in Holy Week, Easter is coming, and it should be the holiest, most sacred time of the whole year,” but the world was witnessing “so much suffering, so many deaths, even of innocent children’, Leo told journalists.

“We continually appeal for peace, but unfortunately many people want to promote hatred, violence, and war”

Against this tense backdrop, Rome is preparing to welcome thousands of worshippers for the Easter celebrations, the most important feast in the Christian calendar, which commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Among Catholics, the memory of the late pope Francis will loom large.