Pope Leo XIV has a new book titled "Peace Be with You!" being released in English-speaking countries on February 24. The book is the English version of the volume "E pace sia!" originally published by the Vatican Publishing House in August 2025. The Pope views peace as both a divine gift and a human commitment necessary to counter global conflicts and selfishness. True peace is defeated in the heart when selfishness and partisan interests overshadow the common good. Knowing others, which requires love and friendship, is presented as a prerequisite for achieving peace, contrasting with the depersonalization that precedes war.
7 days ago
Pope Leo XIV authored a new introduction for the English edition of his book Peace Be with You!, published by HarperCollins on February 24, 2026.1 2
This is the translation of E pace sia!, originally released in August 2025 by the Vatican Publishing House.1 3
The preface emphasizes peace as a pressing global issue, blending divine gift and human duty.1 2
The Pope describes a world scarred by wars, hostilities, and bitter nationalism that harms the vulnerable.1 2 3
Selfishness, greed, and partisan interests undermine peace before battles even begin.1
Refusing to hear others' stories depersonalizes them, igniting conflict; true knowledge requires love and friendship, per St. Augustine.1 3
Peace originates vertically from God, announced by angels at Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.1 2
Christ's incarnation and cross eradicated sin's enmity, sharing divine goodness with humanity.1
The risen Jesus offered "injured" peace from his wounded heart, as echoed in St. Augustine's sermons.2 3
Horizontally, peace demands personal commitment: teaching respect to children, curbing pride in daily life.1 2
Silence, meditation, and listening to God foster it; "God never blesses violence," nor exploitation of others or Earth.3
The heart is the key battlefield, needing victory over destructive impulses.1 2 3
Believers combat "globalization of powerlessness" through prayer, an unarmed force for the common good.1
Cultivate reconciliation via non-violent encounters, building trust and listening over suspicion.2 3
Politics and international bodies must prioritize dialogue and diplomacy.1
The preface ends with St. Augustine's prayer for enduring peace, especially for the suffering and forgotten.2
What is the Catholic understanding of peace as vertical and horizontal?
In Catholic teaching, peace is profoundly relational, encompassing a vertical dimension—reconciliation and harmony with God—and a horizontal dimension—peace among human persons and in society. The vertical peace, rooted in the soul's union with God through Christ, serves as the indispensable foundation for the horizontal peace, which manifests in justice, unity, and charity toward others. This distinction echoes Christ's words: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you" (Jn 14:27), emphasizing a divine, interior peace that overflows into interpersonal relations.
Vertical peace refers to the inner tranquility of the soul aligned with God, achieved through humility, detachment from worldly concerns, and sacramental grace. It is not mere absence of turmoil but a supernatural gift that orders the heart toward eternal realities.
Thomas à Kempis stresses that true peace resides in God alone, independent of human judgment:
“Let not thy peace depend upon the word of men; for whether they judge well or ill of thee, thou art not therefore any other man than thyself. Where is true peace or true glory? Is it not in Me? And he who seeketh not to please men, nor feareth to displease, shall enjoy abundant peace. From inordinate love and vain fear ariseth all disquietude of heart, and all distraction of the senses.”
This interior focus is echoed in the call to refrain from meddling in others' affairs to cultivate single-heartedness:
“We may enjoy abundance of peace if we refrain from busying ourselves with the sayings and doings of others... Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall have abundance of peace.”
Pope Paul VI describes this as peace regulating "the relationship with God" first, drawing from Christ's unique peace, distinct from worldly versions. Similarly, Pope Gregory the Great distinguishes "supernal peace" (eternal, with God) from transitory earthly peace, urging the soul to prioritize the former:
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you... That is, I leave a transitory, I give a lasting peace.”
The Sacrament of Penance exemplifies this vertical restoration:
“By the very fact that it imparts or increases grace, the sacrament of Penance offers the gift of peace... ‘God, the Father of mercies... may God give you pardon and peace’.”
Pope Francis locates reconciliation "within ourselves, in our own lives," as the starting point, where Christ unites all opposites in the soul.
Horizontal peace extends vertically-derived tranquility into relationships, fostering unity, justice, and social order. It demands active peacemaking, rejecting division while pursuing the common good.
St. Augustine identifies peace-haters as those who "tear asunder unity," contrasting this with the Church's call to abide in oneness:
“Who are they who hate peace? They who tear asunder unity... The Catholic Church says, Unity must not be lost... Love ye peace, love ye Christ. For if they love peace, they love Christ.”
Pope Paul VI outlines practical works: loving peace as "order, in relation to God and in relation to men," serving it through social order, aid to the poor, and charity—yet always rooted vertically. Pope Gregory advises peacemakers to first instill "love of internal peace" in the contentious, enabling external harmony without compromise:
“Those... who are occupied with the desire of making peace, are to be admonished that they ought first to infuse a love of internal peace into the minds of the froward, to the end that external peace may afterwards avail to do them good.”
Recent papal teaching reinforces this: Pope Leo XIV calls for an "unarmed and disarming peace" built "in the heart and from the heart," eliminating pride to enable dialogue and justice among nations. Pope Francis notes that shattered hearts hinder societal peace, as Christ’s unifying peace (Eph 2:14) must first heal internal fragmentation.
Catholic doctrine insists vertical peace generates horizontal peace; without the former, the latter proves unstable. Politics or mere conflict absence suffice not—peace requires "moral and religious principles" from the "Christian concept" of life. St. Thomas à Kempis links inner suffering to conquest of self and peace with the world:
“He who best knoweth how to suffer shall possess the most peace; that man is conqueror of himself and lord of the world, the friend of Christ, and the inheritor of heaven.”
Gregory warns against loving "transitory peace" excessively, lest it sever one from God's peace, advocating hatred of evil (perfectly ordered) to preserve unity. Pope Leo XIV envisions synergy among religions for societal peace, but grounded in heart disarmament during the Jubilee of Hope.
In summary, vertical peace—God's gift reconciling the soul—orients the heart, enabling horizontal peace as active charity and unity. This holistic vision, from patristic to contemporary sources, calls believers to pursue Christ's peace daily, transforming personal conversion into societal harmony.