Pope Leo XIV had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday and spoke about ceasefire proposals, Zelenskiy said, in the first known conversation between the newly-elected pontiff and a foreign leader.

Pope Leo XIV has called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid.

Leo urged an end to the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. "I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people," he said. "Let us do everything possible to reach a genuine, just and lasting peace as soon as possible. May all prisoners be freed and children be able to return to their families."

Pope Leo XIV stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to thunderous applause and an electric atmosphere, to deliver his first Sunday blessing and an address calling for peace in Ukraine and Gaza.

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.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine. During their first phone chat, Zelensky thanked him for supporting peace.

Pope Leo XIV has used his first Sunday blessing at the Vatican to address conflicts around the world, calling for an end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.What It MattersLeo's inaugural Sunday blessing marks a significant return of public papal engagement after months of health-related absences by his predecessor,

I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X.

"It's a great thing for the United States and for the world," she said.

Born in the U.S., forged in Peru, chosen in Rome, Leo XIV will helm a church facing debt, division and decline

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.