Pope Leo released a video on Thursday (March 5) praying that God would help world leaders renounce war as a means of resolving conflicts in an unusual appeal as the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran pressed on for the sixth day.

"Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations, so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death," the pontiff said in the video message.

"Today we lift up our prayer for peace in the world, asking that nations renounce weapons and choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy," he said.

Leo releases a video message each month to announce his prayer intentions for that month. The pope's intention for March is "for disarmament and peace."

It was unclear if Thursday's video was created specifically to respond to the U.S.-Israeli military campaign, which has set off a regional war with Iranian attacks in Israel, the Gulf and Iraq, and Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

The Vatican did not immediately respond to a question about when the video was recorded.

The Vatican's top diplomat warned on Wednesday that the U.S.-Israeli strikes undermined international law and said nations did not have a right to launch "preventive wars," an unusually direct criticism of the military campaign.

"If states were to be recognised as having a right to 'preventive war' ... the entire world could risk going up in flames," Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, said in an interview with Vatican News.

In his video, the pope asked God to help the world understand "that true security does not come from control fuelled by fear but from trust, justice and solidarity among peoples."

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VATICAN CITY AND UNKNOWN LOCATION (RELEASED ON MARCH 5, 2026) (POPE’S WORLDWIDE PRAYER NETWORK - Access all)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) POPE LEO SAYING (STARTS WITH POPE PRAYING, CONTINUES ON VARIOUS OF INTERIORS OF CHURCH IN VATICAN CITY AND VARIOUS OF OLIVE TREES IN UNKNOWN LOCATION):

''Lord of Life, you shaped every human being in your image and likeness. We believe you created us for communion, not for war, for fraternity, not for destruction.

You who greeted your disciples saying, “Peace be with you,” grant us the gift of your peace and the strength to make it a reality in history. Today we lift up our prayer for peace in the world, asking that nations renounce weapons and choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy.

Disarm our hearts of hatred, resentment, and indifference, so we may become instruments of reconciliation. Help us understand that true security does not come from control fuelled by fear, but from trust, justice, and solidarity among peoples.

Lord, enlighten the leaders of the nations, so they may have the courage to abandon projects of death, halt the arms race, and place the lives of the most vulnerable at the centre. May the nuclear threat never again dictate the future of humanity.

Holy Spirit, make us faithful and creative builders of daily peace: in our hearts, our families, our communities, and our cities. May every kind word, every gesture of reconciliation, and every choice for dialogue be seeds of a new world. Amen.''