ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV opened 2026 on Thursday with a plea for peace, singling out in particular countries “bloodied by conflict” and families wounded by violence. Leo celebrated a New Year’s Day Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and then delivered a special noontime prayer from his studio overlooking the piazza, which was full of pilgrims and tourists on the bright, chilly day. Leo noted that Jan. 1 marks the church’s World Day of Peace and used the occasion to issue a prayer. “Let us all pray together for peace: first, among nations bloodied by conflict and suffering, but also within our homes, in families wounded by violence or pain,” he said. After a busy Christmas season , Leo has a few days of rest before he celebrates the church’s Epiphany holiday on Jan. 6. On that day too, he officially closes out the 2025 Holy Year , the once-every-quarter-century celebration that brought millions of pilgrims to Rome. Immediately thereafter, he is to preside over a two-day meeting of the entire College of Cardinals, the princes of the church who elected him pope, as well as those