Pope Leo XIV prays for peace as US-Russia summit over Ukraine war gets under way

Pope Leo XIV celebrates a Mass inside the St Thomas of Villanova Church in Castel Gandolfo, Italy (Angelo Carconi/Pool Via AP)

Pope Leo XIV prayed for a peaceful end to the “increasingly deafening violence” of wars around the world as he celebrated a Catholic feast day on the same day as a high-stakes US-Russia summit over the war in Ukraine.

History’s first American pope did not mention the meeting on Friday in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.