Vatican City - Pope Leo XIV lashed out against warmongers on Saturday while calling on billions of people around the globe to embrace peace in an extraordinary address.

In one of his most passionate entreaties yet to end the catastrophic Middle East war launched by the US and Israel, the American pope said faith was needed "in order to face this dramatic hour in history together".

"Those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death," Leo said in an address during a prayer vigil for peace at St Peter's Basilica.

"Instead, death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind and deaf idol, to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee."

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He added: "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life," Pope Leo implored

Uttered in measured tones, as is customary for the soft-spoken head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, the comments by the 70-year-old Leo nevertheless marked some of the most direct criticism yet of the wave of death and destruction consuming the globe.

"Dear brothers and sisters, there are certainly binding responsibilities that fall to the leaders of nations. To them we cry out:sStop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned and deadly actions are decided!"

As he has done in the past, the Chicago native did not cite politicians by name, and did not call out specific countries, but the message was as pointed as it could have been, especially given growing tensions with US President Donald Trump's administration.

Responsibility also fell to the "immense multitude" that rejects war, Leo said, urging them to build a "Kingdom of peace... in our homes, schools, neighborhoods, and civil and religious communities."

The pope described the Kingdom of God as a "bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive."

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It also was a place with "no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialisation of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding, and forgiveness."

Leo painted a grim picture of the current state of the world, "where there never seem to be enough graves, for people continue to crucify one another and eliminate life, with no regard to justice and mercy."

Pope Leo, who was elected pontiff last May following the death of his predecessor Francis, has been increasingly forthright in denouncing wars, especially recent aggressions by the US and Israel.