Pope Leo XIV on Sunday made an appeal for victims of a major typhoon that began battering the Philippines this weekend.

At least two people were confirmed dead in the Philippines on Sunday morning, as Super Typhoon Fung-wong crossed central and eastern parts of the island nation in the Pacific.

Torrential rains and powerful winds knocked out power in large areas of the Bicol region in the Philippines, ahead of the storm’s expected landfall in northern Luzon.

More than a million people had fled vulnerable areas ahead of the storm’s projected landfall in Aurora province – expected for later Sunday – with officials urging residents to heed evacuation orders.

“I am close to the populations in the Philippines, hit by a violent typhoon,” Pope Leo XIV said in remarks following the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer in Rome. “I pray for the dead and for their families, for the injured, and for the displaced.”

Leo also prayed for victims of war everywhere in the world, and particularly for peacemakers everywhere at work in the world today.

“I express my heartfelt appreciation for all who, at every level, are committed to building peace in the many regions scarred by war,” the pontiff said. “In the past few days, we have prayed for the dead,” he said – November is a month specially given to prayer for the deceased – noting also how “among the dead are so many killed in combat and bombardments, even though they were civilians, children, the elderly, the sick.”

“If one would truly honor their memory,” Leo said, “let [belligerents] cease fire and put every effort into negotiation.”

Leo also noted the Italian bishops’ Day of Thanksgiving, an initiative encouraging “responsible care for the land,” especially efforts to contrast food waste and adopt sustainable agricultural practices.

“Let us thank God,” Leo said, quoting Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures, “for ‘our sister, Mother Earth’, and for all who cultivate and care for her.”

Leo made his appeals from the window of the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace, after celebrating Mass on the other side of Rome’s historic city center in the cathedral archbasilica of St. John Lateran, to mark the feast of its dedication.

“This Basilica,” Leo said in his homily,  “in fact, the ‘Mother of all Churches’, is much more than a monument or a historical memorial. It is ‘a sign of the living Church, built with chosen and precious stones in Christ Jesus, the cornerstone’.”

“As such,” Leo said, “it reminds us that we too are ‘living stones here on earth… built into’ a spiritual temple.”

“In recent years,” Leo noted, “the image of a ‘construction site’ has often been used to describe our ecclesial journey.” Leo said the description “is a beautiful image that speaks of activity, creativity and dedication, as well as hard work and sometimes complex problems to be solved.”

“It captures the concrete, tangible efforts of our communities as they grow every day, sharing their charisms under the guidance of their pastors,” he said.

“The Church of Rome, in particular, stands as a witness to this in the current implementation phase of the Synod.  What has matured over years of work now needs to be put to the test and evaluated ‘in the field’,” Leo also said.

“This implies an uphill journey,” the pontiff added, “but we must not be discouraged.  Instead, we should continue with confidence in our efforts to grow together.”

Leo also remarked how the construction “of the majestic building in which we find ourselves has had its share of critical moments, delays and changes to the original plans,” and yet, “thanks to the tenacity of those who came before us, we can now gather in this wonderful place.”

“In Rome,” Leo said, “a great good is growing thanks to the efforts of many.  Let us not allow fatigue to prevent us from recognizing and celebrating this good, so that we may nourish and renew our enthusiasm.”

“After all,” the pontiff went on to say, “it is through charity in action that the face of our Church is shaped, making it ever clearer to all that she is a ‘mother’, the ‘mother of all Churches’, or even a ‘mom’, as Saint John Paul II said when speaking to children on this very feast day,” in 1986.