Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was on Sunday May 18 inaugurated as the 267th Catholic Pope.
The ceremony held at a mass in St Peter’s Square marked Prevost’s papacy. He was chosen as the pontiff on May 8.
He is the first American to become the head of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic church and will go by the title Pope Leo XIV.
Prevost’s choice was announced after a two-day conclave in the Vatican City following the passing of Pope Francis on Easter Monday April 21.
The Ceremony
Pope Leo, 69, had arrived in St Peter’s Square in white Popemobile amidst cheers from the crowd. Shortly after, he was given the Ring of the Fisherman by a cardinal. The ring is a symbol of his role, and it is a tradition that dates back to the time of Apostle Peter, whose occupation was fishing.
Thereafter, Pope Leo received the pallium, a strip of lambswool, which symbolises his role as a shepherd.
In his homily, expressed gratitude for the support given to him as he began his pastoral ministry as pope, recalling the intense emotions experienced in the last few weeks.
“Following the death of Pope Francis, we felt like sheep without a shepherd, yet having received his final blessing on Easter Sunday, and with eyes of faith, hope and joy, we remembered how the Lord never abandons His people,” he said.
He noted that he “was chosen without any merit of his own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.”
Unity
The pope said he wanted to be a servant to the faithful via the two dimensions of papacy, love and unity, so that the church could be a force for peace in the world.
He stated, “I would like that our first great desire be for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which become a leaven for a reconciled world. In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.”
The pontiff added, “Let us build a church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made restless by history, and becomes a leaven for humanity.”
At the end of the service, he also expressed concerns about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, stating that “the martyred Ukraine is waiting for negotiations for a just and lasting peace to finally happen.”
The mass was attended by over 200,000 people including world leaders, representatives of Christian denominations, patriarchs and princes. Religious delegation included Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Jainists.
Vice President JD Vance of the United States, President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine were among world leaders at the event.
