Pope Leo XIV began the year with a powerful call for peace during his participation in the traditional Christmas Concert organized by the Pontifical Sistine Chapel Choir, held on January 3rd in the iconic setting of the Apostolic Palace. In an event marked by the spiritual emotion of music and song, the Holy Father dedicated the concert especially to children suffering the consequences of war and poverty, while also reiterating his recurring call to “disarm” as a key verb for building a reconciled world.

During his greeting to the participants—among them the 24 adult singers and 30 children’s singers of the Chapel, directed by Maestro Monsignor Marcos Pavan—the Pope emphasized the power of music to transcend reason and touch the heart directly. “There is no Christmas without carols,” he affirmed, recalling the universal tradition that unites cultures and peoples. Evoking the Gospel of Luke, he highlighted the angels’ song in Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will” (Lk 2:13-14), as the first “Christmas concert” witnessed by the humble shepherds.

The Pope invited everyone to meditate on the inner silence of the Virgin Mary as a model for listening to God’s voice, and he demonstrated his personal devotion to music by leading those present in singing prayers and uniting them in the Lord’s Prayer in Latin. However, the most moving moment came when he dedicated the concert to the children who, in many parts of the world, have experienced these holidays “without lights, without music, without what is necessary for human dignity, and without peace.” “May the Lord hear their silent cry,” he implored, asking for justice and peace through Mary’s intercession.

This message is directly linked to the profound reflection that Pope Leo XIV developed on the verb “to disarm,” which became a key word of his pontificate. In various speeches, such as the Angelus of January 1, 2016, he exhorted: “Let us begin today to build a year of peace, disarming our hearts and abstaining from all violence.” The peace of Christ, he insisted, is “disarmed and disarming,” humble and persevering, won without weapons, like that which springs from the Incarnation of a God who becomes a vulnerable child.

The Holy Father has used this verb in all its grammatical tenses to address leaders and people of goodwill: as the fulfillment of Jesus’ resurrection, as an eternal projection of goodness that disarms hatred, and as a daily commitment that invites us to “disarm words” in order to contribute to “disarming the earth.” In a context of global rearmament and persistent conflicts, these words resonate as a prophetic call to mercy and reconciliation.

At the close of the concert, the Pope imparted his Apostolic Blessing, wishing everyone a blessed new year. His address, filled with hope in this Holy Year, reaffirms his commitment to a peace that springs from a disarmed heart and extends to the whole world.