Pope Leo XIV calls for 'peace without rearmament' during historic visit to La Sapienza University

Rome — Pope Leo XIV received a standing ovation at La Sapienza University on Thursday during a landmark pastoral visit that many observers viewed as a symbolic reconciliation between the Vatican and Italy’s largest public university nearly two decades after Pope Benedict XVI was forced to cancel his planned appearance following protests.

Entering the Aula Magna beneath the monumental 1935 fresco by Mario Sironi and flanked by the busts of Dante Alighieri and Leonardo da Vinci, the Pontiff was welcomed by Rector Antonella Polimeni, students and academics in what marked the first papal address at the university since the controversy surrounding Benedict XVI’s cancelled 2008 visit.

The atmosphere inside the university stood in sharp contrast to the tensions of eighteen years ago, when protests by students and a group of professors led Benedict XVI to withdraw amid fierce debate over the role of religion in a secular academic institution. Thursday’s visit instead unfolded in a climate focused on dialogue, coexistence and shared responsibility.

Speaking to students and faculty, Leo XIV delivered a wide ranging address touching on war, artificial intelligence, climate change, inequality and what he described as the growing spiritual unease of younger generations.

“We are a desire, not an algorithm,” the Pope declared, in what quickly emerged as the defining line of the day.

The Pontiff warned against what he called “a distorted system” that reduces people to numbers while intensifying competitiveness and anxiety, arguing that technological and economic systems risk stripping individuals of dignity and responsibility.

Addressing global conflicts, Leo XIV condemned the worldwide increase in military spending, particularly in Europe, and criticised what he described as the normalisation of rearmament.

“Do not call it ‘defence’ when rearmament increases tensions and insecurity, drains investment from education and healthcare, undermines faith in diplomacy and enriches elites who care nothing for the common good,” he said.

Without directly attacking governments, the Pope referred to the wars in Ukraine, Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Iran as evidence of a “dehumanising evolution” in the relationship between war and modern technology.

He also warned against the unchecked development of artificial intelligence in both military and civilian spheres, saying new technologies must never “de responsibilise human choices” or worsen the devastation of conflict.

The speech repeatedly returned to the concerns of young people. Leo XIV spoke of the emotional fragility affecting many students and described universities as places where critical thinking, dialogue and human relationships must prevail over ideology and polarisation.

Invoking Saint Augustine, to whom he referred several times during the visit, the Pope encouraged students not to surrender to pessimism but instead to transform “unease into prophecy”.

“Study, cultivate and safeguard justice,” he told the audience. “Be artisans of true peace, a peace that is disarmed and disarming.”

The Pope also praised the collaboration between Sapienza, the Diocese of Rome and the Community of Sant’Egidio to establish humanitarian university corridors for Palestinian students fleeing war in Gaza.

Earlier in the morning, Leo XIV visited the university chapel and met students before holding a private conversation with Rector Polimeni and touring the exhibition Sapienza and the Papacy, dedicated to the centuries long relationship between the university and the Church.

Founded in 1303 by Pope Boniface VIII, Sapienza has historically maintained close ties with the papacy despite evolving into one of Europe’s foremost secular public institutions.

In her remarks welcoming the Pope, Rector Polimeni thanked Leo XIV for a visit that she said “strengthens the bond between Sapienza and the Church of Rome” and comes at “a particularly delicate moment” marked by war, instability and social fragmentation.

She praised the Pontiff’s “tireless commitment to unity among peoples” and said his presence offered “confidence and encouragement” to continue promoting dialogue, inclusion and peace through education and research.

Polimeni also stressed the university’s secular identity while defending the importance of engagement between faith and academia.

“The dialogue between the university and the spiritual dimension takes nothing away from the secular nature of knowledge,” she said.

The visit is likely to be remembered not only for its political and moral themes, but also for the powerful symbolism of a Pope being warmly received in the same Aula Magna where one of his predecessors was once rejected, a scene many in Italy interpreted as the closing of one of the most painful fractures between the Vatican and the country’s academic world.

PS