Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Good Friday.
The Vatican said the pope spoke separately with both presidents on April 3. They exchanged Easter and Passover greetings. Leo also spoke with the presidents about the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and highlighted the need for continued humanitarian aid.
The Middle East and Ukraine continue to be plagued by armed conflicts. The U.S. and Israeli conflict with Iran has entered a new phase with U.S. President Donald Trump this week vowing stronger military action against Iran. The Russia-Ukraine War continues to claim casualties and has entered its fourth year.
A statement from the office of the Israeli president said Herzog discussed the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran with the pope, including “the ongoing threat of missile attacks by the Iranian regime and its terror proxies against people of all faiths in the region.”
The statement also said that Herzog recalled to Leo recent Iranian missile attacks on Jerusalem, and his insistence that Hezbollah continues to be a threat to stability in the Middle East.
The telephone discussions followed Leo’s public plea on March 31 in which he again called for an unconditional ceasefire and expressed hopes that Trump would be “looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing.” In that same plea, he also called for an Easter truce for both conflicts.
The discussion between the pope and the Israeli president also followed an incident in Jerusalem on March 29, where the Latin patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was denied access to the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday by Israeli police.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land later reached an agreement with Israeli authorities, permitting access for Church representatives to celebrate Masses and religious rites while restrictions on public gatherings remain in force.
Neither the office of the Israeli president nor the Vatican commented on whether the pope and Herzog discussed the incident in Jerusalem.
