His Holiness Pope Leo XIV: Planes should bring peace, not war and destruction

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV meets with a delegation from ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group (@Vatican Media)

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV thanks the Italian national airline ITA Airways for carrying the Pope on his Apostolic Journeys, and laments the use of aircraft as carriers of death and destruction in theaters of war.

By Devin Watkins

Just twenty days ahead of his Apostolic Journey to four African nations, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV met with a delegation of executives and staff from ITA Airways, Italy’s national airline, and the Lufthansa Group.

The Pope thanked ITA Airways and its predecessor, Alitalia, for its service to the Popes, beginning with Pope St. Paul VI.

He praised its “qualified and experienced professionals” for creating a “serene atmosphere” for the Pope, his entourage, and the journalists who fly with him to cover his Apostolic Journeys.

ITA Airways, he added, helps papal visits abroad become filled with “almost a family atmosphere, where respect is joined with devotion.”

“Meeting you gives me the opportunity to express my personal appreciation and gratitude, and that of the Holy See, for this precious service,” he said.

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV said papal flights offer an eloquent symbol of the mission of the Successor of Peter in contemporary society, as he always travels to countries as “a messenger of peace.”

“His routes are what they always should be, namely bridges of dialogue, encounter, and fraternity,” he said.

However, noted the Pope, aircraft have often been used in theaters of war to bring destruction and fear.

“Airplanes should always be carriers of peace, never of war!” he said. “No one should be afraid that threats of death and destruction might come from the sky”…

This news was originally published on the Website of Vatican News. Please click here to read the full text.