VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV expressed hope that the U.S.-Israel war on Iran could end before Easter and called on world leaders to return to dialogue and reduce violence.

"I'm told that President Trump has recently stated that he would like to end the war," the Pope said Tuesday as he left the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo outside Rome. "I hope that he's looking for an off-ramp."

During Palm Sunday Mass at St. Peter's Square, the Pope prayed for Christians in the Middle East and said that God does not listen to the prayers of those who make war or cite God to justify their violence.

The Pope is scheduled to carry out the Holy Thursday foot-washing tradition in the basilica of St. John Lateran, where popes have performed the tradition for decades. On Good Friday, he is scheduled to preside over the procession at Rome's Colosseum commemorating Christ's Passion and crucifixion and will carry the cross himself. On Holy Saturday during the Easter Vigil, he will baptize new Catholics. On Easter Sunday, he will celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Square and deliver his Easter blessing from the loggia of the basilica.