At his first general audience, Pope Leo XIV called for an end to the war in Gaza and reflected on hope, drawing inspiration from Van Gogh’s "The Sower at Sunset."

The Vatican said that around 40,000 people were on hand for the audience, which came just days after an estimated 200,000 people attended the inaugural Mass on Sunday for history’s first American pope.

Pope Leo XIV holds his first general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, issuing an appeal for Gaza, which he calls an “increasingly worrying and painful” situation, harming children, elderly, and the sick in particular.