Pope Leo XIV called for peace this Thursday during a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on the occasion of the 59th World Day of Peace, emphasizing that the world will not be saved with weapons or by “condemning, oppressing or eliminating “Brothers and sisters.” Rather, it will be saved “through the tireless effort to understand, forgive, liberate, and accept everyone, without calculation and without fear,” the pontiff said. “The world is not saved by sharpening swords” but with forgiveness, understanding, and “welcoming everyone,” added Leo XIV during his first Mass of the year. The American pontiff, an Augustinian, alluded precisely to St. Augustine to assert that one of the “fundamental characteristics” of God is “the total gratuitousness of his love,” since he presents himself in the form of a newborn child, naked and defenseless in the cradle. “A new life” Leo XIV is experiencing his first New Year as pope, having been elected last May, and this Thursday he officiated the traditional Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. The opening of the new year, 2026, he emphasized, is an opportunity for each person for “a new life” marked by the capacity to forgive. Ambassadors from numerous countries accredited to the Vatican also participated in the New Year's Mass in the packed St. Peter's Basilica. The diplomats received the Pope's message for world peace, which was distributed in ten languages ??in mid-December under the title 'Peace be with you all. Towards an unarmed and disarming peace'.