Leo XIV Delivers First Homily as Bishop of Rome at Basilica of St. John Lateran

Rome, Italy.- Pope Léon XIV, bishop of Rome, symbolically took possession on Sunday of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the oldest in the West. Before addressing the "Mother of all churches" where the popes resided before the Vatican, the sovereign Pontiff passed to the Capitol, seat of the mayor's office of the Italian capital. "Peace is the most powerful universal vocation of Rome," Mayor Roberto Gualtieri told him, referring to the message o…

Leo XIV delivers first homily as bishop of Rome at Basilica of St. John Lateran

Pope Leo XIV delivered his first homily as Bishop of Rome at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, where he took possession of his cathedra (throne) on Sunday.

The new head of the Catholic Church formally began his mission as Bishop of Rome with a service in his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

Mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world, the Basilica of Saint John of Lateran occupies a special status in the pontifical Rome. ...

Pope Leo XIV quoted an earlier speech from Pope Francis to tell the direction he seeks to give to the Vatican and the Catholic Church in one of his most important Masses since he assumed the leadership of the Holy See in which he laid the foundations of his pontificate.In the Basilica of St.John Lateran, the cathedral of the Italian capital, Pope Prevost began his process as bishop of Rome and explained what the main features will be, as well as…

«Communion is built first and foremost on our knees": Pope Leo takes possession of the Cathedral of Rome (which is not the Vatican) - ZENIT

(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 05.25.2025).- On the afternoon of Sunday, May 25, Pope Leo XIV presided over the Eucharistic concelebration at the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on the occasion of his taking possession as Bishop of Rome. As is well known, the Pope is, above all, the Bishop of the Diocese of Rome, although he usually entrusts its administration to his Vicar. The Pope entered through the Holy Door …