VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks Sunday with prayers for those who died, those still living with the consequences and a renewed appeal for peace. Speaking in English after his traditional Sunday noon blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, Leo said the anniversary had come two days earlier and urged people to remember the victims of the attacks in the United States. “I renew my prayers for those who lost their lives and for those who continue to bear the wounds of that tragic day,” he said. The pope added that violence and armed conflict continue to affect people around the world. “I invite everyone to pray that the Lord will bestow his gift of peace upon the world,” he said. Leo repeated the appeal in Italian, saying the memory of the attacks should push people to strengthen their commitment to peace, particularly through prayer. The Chicago-born pope was in Rome on Sept. 11, 2001, attending a major gathering of the Augustinian religious order. At the time, he was the order’s provincial leader in Chicago. Three days later, on his birthday, he was elected superior of the worldwide Augustinian order, a position he held for two consecutive terms through 2012. In a homily delivered soon after the attacks, the future pope said the violence in the United States reflected deeper problems that were worsening in many places. He warned that hatred and violence would persist while people endured extreme poverty and systemic injustice. Leo’s remarks came as the United States and communities around the world marked a quarter-century since the attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. The anniversary has also renewed attention to the long-term physical and psychological injuries experienced by survivors, first responders and families of those who died.