Pope Leo XIV calls for urgent international aid for Somalia

Pope Leo XIV called for urgent international aid for Somalia during the Angelus in St. Peter's Square on September 20, 2026. The country, in the Horn of Africa, has been devastated by drought, violence and mass displacement. The pope asked for a generous response from the international community, with particular attention to women and children, the hardest hit by the crisis.

The pope said that "episodes of violence and extreme weather events are worsening the already precarious living conditions of the population." He added that it is essential that "the international community become generously involved so that our brothers and sisters do not lack the assistance they need."

UNICEF figures show the scale of the emergency. About 4.8 million people in Somalia need urgent humanitarian assistance, roughly 3 million of them children. Some 1.9 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, and nearly half a million have severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form of the condition.

Cuts in international aid have made the situation worse. The World Food Programme has sharply reduced its coverage, from 2 million beneficiaries to just 600,000 in 2026, after several United Nations agencies saw their resources fall. The prolonged drought is forcing thousands of families to move in search of water and food, while internal conflicts continue.

In his Angelus reflection, the pope also spoke about divine justice, which he described as "more generous" than human justice. Drawing on the parable of the workers in the vineyard, he said God has "different ways and new thoughts," with plans that are "infinitely greater and more human than those which men, marked by sin, can conceive."

The pope urged Christians to seek joy, intelligence and a future through the law of love rather than the law of calculation, and to practice mercy instead of clinging to merit. "There is no room for envy and division where the newness of God breaks in," he said, calling for "wicked thoughts" to be set aside.

The pope also addressed the people of Pescantina, in Italy, who had gathered to commemorate those deported and imprisoned during World War II. "We must not forget, but learn from history so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past," he said. He greeted groups from several dioceses who were in Rome, among them a bishop and faithful from Poland visiting sites of eucharistic miracles, and families from Slovakia taking part in a national march for life held in Bratislava.