A Servant of Faith and Joy

A brother and servant of faith and joy. That’s how Leo XIV presented himself to the more than 200,000 people who gathered in Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday morning, 18 May, for the inauguration Mass of the new pontificate.

Before the liturgy, Pope Leo made his way through the crowd in the popemobile, greeting pilgrims and tourists waving flags from different countries. He then entered the Vatican Basilica, where he and the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches prayed at Saint Peter’s tomb and then processed towards the altar on the parvis of the Basilica for the Eucharistic celebration, during which Pope Leo received the pallium and the Ring of the Fisherman.

During his homily, the new Bishop of Rome called for “a united Church, a sign of unity and communion”. Faced with “hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest”, the Pope urged the faithful to “be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world”.

Pope Leo concluded the celebration by imparting the final blessing and praying the Regina Caeli with the faithful gathered.