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Pope Leo XIV called for unity successful the Catholic Church during his inaugural wide successful St. Peter's Square earlier an estimated 150,000 pilgrims, presidents, patriarchs and princes.
Pope Leo officially opened his pontificate by taking his archetypal popemobile circuit done the piazza, a rite of transition that has go synonymous with the papacy's planetary scope and mediatic draw. The 69-year-old Augustinian missionary smiled and waved from the backmost of the truck.
Pope Leo XIV waves to the faithful successful St. Peter's Square for the Inauguration Mass connected May 18, 2025 successful Vatican City, Vatican.
Simone Risoluti / Getty Images
During the Mass, the pontiff appeared to choke up erstwhile the 2 potent symbols of the papacy were placed connected him – the pallium woolen stole implicit his shoulders and the fisherman's ringing connected his finger. He turned his manus to look astatine the ringing and seal and past clasped his hands successful beforehand of him successful prayer.
In his homily, Pope Leo said helium wanted to beryllium a servant to the faithful done the 2 dimensions of the papacy, emotion and unity, truthful that the religion could beryllium a unit for bid successful the world.
"I would similar that our archetypal large tendency beryllium for a agreed church, a motion of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world," helium said. "In this our time, we inactive spot excessively overmuch discord, excessively galore wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fearfulness of difference, and an economical paradigm that exploits the Earth's resources and marginalizes the poorest."
Pope Leo XIV (formerly Robert Francis Prevost) presided implicit his inauguration wide successful St Peter's Square aft his predetermination connected May 8th.
Elisabetta Trevisan / Getty Images
His telephone for unity was significant, fixed the polarization successful the Catholic Church successful the United States and beyond. Vice President JD Vance, one of the past overseas officials to conscionable Pope Francis earlier helium died, led the U.S. delegation honoring the Chicago-born Pope Leo. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and aggregate members of Congress joined him.
"Let america physique a religion founded connected God's love, a motion of unity, a missionary religion that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to beryllium made restless by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity," Leo said, referencing immoderate of the themes of Francis' pontificate arsenic well.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives astatine St. Peter's Square for Pope Leo XIV's solemnisation of the Mass for the inauguration of his pontificate successful the Vatican, connected May 18, 2025.
Valeria Ferraro/Anadolu via Getty Images
At the extremity of the Mass, Pope Leo expressed anticipation for negotiations to bring a "just and lasting peace" successful Ukraine and offered prayers for the radical of Gaza — children, families and aged who are "reduced to hunger," helium said. Leo made nary notation of hostages taken by Hamas from confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, arsenic Francis usually did erstwhile praying for Gaza.
After the Mass, Pope Leo greeted the delegations 1 by 1 successful the basilica and had due audiences scheduled connected Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
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