Pope Leo XIV called for genuine and just peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff that featured some symbolic gestures suggesting a message of unity in a polarized Catholic Church.Video above: Augustinian friar friends of new pope watch him deliver his first Sunday prayer맥스카지노�I, too, address the world's great powers by repeating the ever-present call: 맥스카지노�never again war,맥스카지노�맥스카지노� Leo said from the loggia of St. Peter맥스카지노�s Basilica to an estimated 100,000 people below.It was the first time Leo had returned to the loggia since he first appeared to the world Thursday evening following his remarkable election as pope, the first from the United States. Then, too, he delivered a message of peace.Leo was picking up the papal tradition of offering a Sunday blessing at noon, but with some twists. Whereas his predecessors delivered the greeting from the studio window of the Apostolic Palace, off to the side of the piazza, Leo went to the very center of the square and the heart of the church.Part of that was logistics. He didn't have access to the papal apartments in the palace until later Sunday, when they were unsealed for the first time since Pope Francis' death.Leo also offered a novelty by singing the Regina Caeli prayer, a Latin prayer said during the Easter season that recent popes would usually just recite, harking back to the old Latin Mass of the past.Traditionalists and conservatives, many of whom felt alienated by Francis' reforms and loose liturgical style, have been looking for gestures hinting at Leo's priorities. Some have expressed cautious optimism at the very least with a return to a traditional style that Leo exhibited Thursday night, when he emerged for the first time wearing the formal red cape of the papacy that Francis had eschewed.He followed up on Saturday by wearing the brocaded papal stole during a visit to a Marian sanctuary south of Rome. There, he knelt in reverence and greeted the crowd surrounded by priests in long cassocks usually favored by conservatives.Aldo Maria Valli, a conservative Italian journalist who writes a popular blog, said he appreciated these gestures and urged traditionalists to give Leo a chance, saying he liked a lot of what he has seen so far. 맥스카지노�Don't shoot Leo," he wrote.On Sunday, Leo wore the simple white cassock of the papacy and had reverted back to wearing his silver pectoral cross. He had worn a more ornate one that contains the relics of St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica, on Thursday night that had been given to him by his Augustinian religious order.On hand in the square on Sunday for Leo's first noon prayer were two of Europe's more firebrand conservatives, France's Marine Le Pen and Italy's Matteo Salvini. The Italian minister has highlighted his Catholic faith in his political messaging.맥스카지노�Beloved Ukrainian people맥스카지노�Leo quoted Francis in denouncing the number of conflicts ravaging the globe today, saying it was a 맥스카지노�third world war in pieces.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people," he said. 맥스카지노�Let everything possible be done to achieve genuine, just and lasting peace as soon as possible.맥스카지노�He called for the release of war prisoners and the return of Ukrainian children to their families, and welcomed the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.He also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and for humanitarian relief to be provided to the 맥스카지노�exhausted civilian population and all hostages be freed.맥스카지노�Leo also noted that Sunday was Mother맥스카지노�s Day in many countries and wished all mothers, 맥스카지노�including those in heaven,맥스카지노� a happy Mother맥스카지노�s Day.The crowd, filled with marching bands in town for a special Jubilee weekend, erupted in cheers and music as the bells of St. Peter맥스카지노�s Basilica tolled.Angela Gentile of Bari arrived in the square three hours early to be in place. Nonplussed that cardinals had elected yet another non-Italian pope, she said she was happy Leo came to the central balcony of the basilica so the crowd could see him face to face. 맥스카지노�What맥스카지노�s good for the Holy Spirit works for me,맥스카지노� she said. 맥스카지노�I have trust.맥스카지노�More than 50 pilgrims from Houston, Texas, were in the square, too, waving three large American flags. They were in Rome on a preplanned Holy Year pilgrimage and said they were proud to be part of this historic occasion.맥스카지노�Words cannot express my admiration and gratitude to God,맥스카지노� said the Rev. Dominic Nguyen, who led the Vietnamese American group. He said he hoped the pope would be happy to see the Stars and Stripes but also Peruvian flags and all other countries, showing the universality of the church.A Mass in the grottoes and unsealing the apartmentAlso Sunday, Leo celebrated a private Mass near the tomb of St. Peter and prayed at the tombs of several past popes in the grottoes underneath the basilica. Vatican Media filmed him praying before a mix of more progressive and tradition-minded popes: Pope Paul VI, who closed out the modernizing reforms of the 1960s Second Vatican Council, and Popes Pius XII and Benedict XVI, on the more conservative end of the spectrum.He celebrated the Mass with the head of his Augustinian order and his brother, John, in the pews. In his homily, he recalled that Sunday was also the day that the Catholic Church celebrates religious vocations, and noted that the issue of declining vocations had been raised by cardinals in their pre-conclave discussions before his election.Leo said priests can encourage more vocations by offering a good example, 맥스카지노�living the joy of the Gospel, not discouraging others, but rather looking for ways to encourage young people to hear the voice of the Lord and to follow it and to serve in the church.맥스카지노�Leo also attended the official unsealing of the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace, which were sealed after Francis' April 21 death. It is unclear if Leo will move into the apartments or just use them for formal audiences as Francis did.Leo has slept in his old apartment in a Vatican palazzo since his election. Francis decided to live and work at the Domus Santa Marta hotel in the Vatican rather than move into the palace, eventually taking over much of the second floor.The 69-year-old Chicago-born missionary was elected 267th pope Thursday. He has a busy week of audiences before his formal installation Mass next Sunday.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP맥스카지노�s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.