Eastern and Latin alike — who, above all in the Middle East, persevere and remain in their homelands,” Leo said May 14.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American to head the global Catholic Church, pledged on Wednesday to make "every effort" for peace and offered the Vatican as a mediator in global conflicts, saying war was "never inevitable".

Pope Leo XIV is vowing to actively promote and protect the spirituality and traditions of the eastern rite churches, those Catholic communities with origins in the Middle East and North Africa that have been decimated by conflict and persecution.

Pope Leo XIV may visit Ukraine on his first foreign trip - Türkiye and Peru are also under consideration, La Repubblica reports. Visit to Ukraine According to the media outlet, one of the potential countries for the Pope's first visit could be Ukraine,

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke by phone with newly elected Pope Leo XIV on Monday and said they discussed Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and a proposal from allies for a 30-day ceasefire which Moscow has so far not accepted.

Leo, who was born in Chicago, signed a baseball that someone held out to him. A woman in the line asked him for a selfie — a situation few of his predecessors would have faced in their first media outing. He politely declined, shook her hand and moved on.

Leo, who was elected the 267th leader of the Catholic Church last week, called for "the precious gift of free speech" to be protected and an end to a divisive "war of words" filled with prejudice and ideological attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plans to attend the inaugural Mass of newly elected Pope Leo at the Vatican on Sunday, war commitments permitting, a top presidential aide told Reuters on Tuesday.