The address, delivered from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, marked the new pontiff’s first public message since assuming the papacy and drew a crowd of nearly 100,000 faithful to Vatican City. “I, too, address the world’s great powers by repeating the ever-present call ‘never again war,'” Pope Leo declared, his voice echoing across the packed square.

The Pope’s message centered on two of the globe’s most volatile conflicts: Ukraine and Gaza. Drawing on the words of his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo described today’s world as caught in a “third world war in pieces.”

“I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people,” he said. “Whatever is possible be done to reach an authentic true and lasting