Pope leads prayers for world ‘in a dark hour’

Pope Francis gestures as he leads a prayer for peace (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Pope Francis has led special Friday evening prayers in St Peter’s Basilica for a world “in a dark hour” and in “great danger” from what he described as the folly of war.

Francis delivered his remarks in the form of a prayer to the Virgin Mary and did not mention by name the conflict that exploded when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7 and Israel retaliated by sealing off the Gaza Strip and battering the Palestinian territory with air strikes.