"Christ, King of Peace, still cries out from his cross: God is love! Have mercy! Lay down your weapons, remember that you are brothers." Leo XIV launched a clear and intense appeal against war in his Palm Sunday homily, during the celebration in St. Peter's Square that opens Holy Week. Before approximately 40,000 faithful, the Pontiff chose few but strong words, pointing to the crucified Jesus as the face of a God who "rejects violence" and whom "no one can use to justify war." In the current international scenario, marked by conflict and tension, the Pope invited the faithful to look to Christ as the true "King of Peace," opposed to brutality, hatred, and the logic of weapons. "Jesus did not arm himself, he did not defend himself, he did not fight any war," said Leo XIV, emphasizing how the Son of God chose the path of meekness and sacrifice to "embrace all the crosses planted in every time and place in human history." An image the Pontiff linked directly to the suffering of the present: in the wounds of Christ, he explained, we can recognize today the wounds of those oppressed by violence, loneliness, illness, and above all, war. At the heart of the celebration, the Pope then turned his thoughts to the "crucified of humanity," to all the victims of conflict and to wounded peoples, finally entrusting to Mary the world's pain and the hope that evil will not have the last word. Concluding his homily, Leo XIV echoed the words of Bishop Tonino Bello, invoking a time when "the glare of wars is fading to twilight" and the tears of the victims can finally be dried. The celebration opened with the traditional procession in St. Peter's Square, amidst palms, olive branches, and palms, commemorating Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. At the end of the Mass, the Pope gave a long greeting to the faithful and pilgrims aboard his white jeep, thus initiating the rites of Holy Week.