During Sunday’s Mass of Inauguration, Pope Leo XIV called for a “united Church” to foster peace throughout the world and for the faithful to “walk towards God and love one another”.
Greeting hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, world leaders, and representatives from various Christian denominations, Pope Leo XIV marked the start of his Petrine Ministry with Mass in St. Peter’s Square in which the Gospel was proclaimed in Greek and Latin.
Arriving to the ceremony by the Popemobile, the 69-year-old American Pontiff was adorned with liturgical insignia, including the Papal Pallium, a white woollen sash that symbolises the Bishop of Rome shepherding the lost, sick, or weak to the waters of life and honours the sacrifice of Jesus as the Lamb of God being crucified for the salvation of man.
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN, MAY 18: Pope Leo XIV arrives, greets the public before the Mass for the inauguration of his pontificate in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on May 18, 2025. (Photo by Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Pope Leo was also seen to be visibly emotional as he received from Cardinal Tagle the Ring of the Fisherman, which bears the image of St. Peter with the keys of the kingdom of heaven and the net which was used during the Miracle of the Fishes. As the successor to St. Peter, every new pope is given their own, uniquely cast Fisherman’s Ring, symbolising the continuous connection to the first papacy and the duty entrusted to lead the faithful.
Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle puts the Fisherman’s Ring on a finger of Pope Leo XIV during a mass for the beginning of his pontificate, in St Peter’s square in The Vatican on May 18, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
In his homily, Leo told the hundreds of thousands gathered: “I was chosen, without any merit of my 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.”
The Vicar of Christ said that his “first great desire” is for a “united Church” to confront the “hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.”
“For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one,” the Pontiff said.
TOPSHOT – A general view shows people attending a Holy mass led by Pope Leo XIV for the beginning of his pontificate, in St Peter’s square in The Vatican on May 18, 2025. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
The call for unity comes amid divisions over the direction of the Catholic Church following the liberal-leaning Papacy of Pope Francis, who led the Church from 2013 until his death in April. Conservatives often objected to Francis’ comments, perceived as supporting mass migration and in support of the LGBTQ+ movement. Divisions also remain over the issue of the Traditional Latin Mass, which was restricted under Pope Francis.
“It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did,” Leo said, adding: “Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him.”
The Pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago, also referenced his predecessor Pope Leo XIII, whom he chose his papal name in honour of the 1981 Encyclical Rerum Novarum (On New Things), which addressed the economic turmoil and social upheaval amid the industrial revolution.
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – MAY 18: Well-wishers pray during the Inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV in St Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Leo XIV (formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost) presided over his inauguration mass in St Peter’s Square after his election on May 8th. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
As his predecessor laid out the need for the wealthy and working class to come together in harmony and reject Marxism’s violent envy and unfettered capitalism’s greed, Pope Leo XIV has said that the Church must be at the forefront of addressing the potential perils posed by artificial intelligence and defending “human dignity.”
“Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion “were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?'” he said on Sunday, quoting directly from Rerum Novarum.
18 May 2025, Vatican, Vatikanstadt: The new Pope Leo XIV stands with a fisherman’s ring and pallium at his inauguration in St. Peter’s Square. The American Robert Francis Prevost is the first pontiff from the United States. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa (Photo by Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)
“With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, 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 of harmony for humanity. Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.”
“This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!”
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – MAY 18: From right, Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance, brother of Pope Leo XIV, Louis Prevost and his wife Deborah, attend the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. U.S. Vice President JD Vance is in Rome to attend the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin – Pool/Getty Images)
At the conclusion of the Mass, Pope Leo XIV prayed the Regina Caeli and called for an end to conflicts around the world and expressed sorrow for those suffering in war.
“In the joy of faith and communion, we cannot forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war,” he said.
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN – MAY 18: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY – NO MERCHANDISING). Pope Leo XIV meets with president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the end of the Inauguration Mass In St. Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Leo XIV (formerly Robert Francis Prevost) presided over his inauguration mass in St Peter’s Square after his election on May 8th. (Photo by Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
The Pope pointed to the suffering of the “surviving children, families, and elderly” in Gaza, the “new hostilities have cut short innocent young lives” in Myanmar, and the “martyred Ukraine awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace.”
Following the Mass, the Pope met privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the service with his wife. Ahead of the Mass, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also attended on Sunday alongside Catholic convert Vice President JD Vance, suggested that the Vatican could potentially serve as a mediator to help end the war with Russia.
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