Intoning "war is madness," Pope Francis urged the world to weep for humanity on Saturday as it faces conflicts amounting to a third world war.

The Argentine Pope was visiting Italy's largest cemetery to commemorate the centenary of the First World War.

During his homily delivered at the Redipuglia memorial where 100,000 Italian soldiers fallen during the World War I were buried, he lamented the "crimes, massacres and destructions" that resound of piecemeal third world war waged today.

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The pope began his visit in northern Italy by privately praying in a nearby cemetery where the remains of 15,000 soldiers who died during the Austro-Hungarian war lie.

In his homily at the Italian memorial, Pope Francis paid tribute to the victims of all wars, including the ones waged today in the name of geopolitical strategies, political interests and lust for power and money.  

He lamented the costs of "mindless wars" and reminded the world to shed its apathy for the victims.

Now is the time to weep, the pope said.

In recent months, Pope Francis has urged the world to pray for peace.

He has been making repeated appeals for the end of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the growing terrorism threats brought on by the Islamic State group (ISIL), and the protracted conflicts in Gaza and Africa, reported Reuters.

"War is irrational," the pope said in his homily. It seeks to bring destruction and it grows by destroying, the pope explained.

Last month, the pope, condemning war in God's name, said that the international community would be justified to use force to stop the Islamic State militants who have been killing and displacing people by the thousand in Syria and Iraq, many of whom are Christians and religious minorities, the BBC reported.

In his August visit, the pope told the Catholics in Korea that the world is in the midst of a third world war.

The pope's visit in northern Italy is fused with personal meaning. He was presented with the military records of his grandfather during the commemorations. The elder Bergoglio fought in the Austro-Hungarian war in 1915-17 and survived to impress in the future pope, the pain and horror of wars. 

TagsWorld War III, third world war, Pope Francis