Pope Leo formally takes charge of Catholic Church with elaborate inaugural Mass
- Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope born in Chicago, formally took charge of the Catholic Church during an inaugural Mass on May 17, 2025, in St. Peter's Square attended by 200,000 people.
- His election on May 8 followed a 24-hour conclave held to select Pope Francis' successor after Francis died on April 21, 2025, amid a polarized global Catholic Church.
- Leo offered a message of unity and peace, emphasizing the church as a sign of communion and a missionary force that embraces the world and addresses discord, hatred, and social wounds.
- He called for the creation of a church rooted in God's love that serves as a symbol of unity, and during a Mass attended by pilgrims, leaders, and delegations including U.S. Vice President JD Vance, he prayed for the starving people of Gaza and hoped for a just peace in Ukraine.
- Leo’s traditional Augustinian style and return to formal papal vestments pleased conservative Catholics, and his call for unity signals a papacy focused on healing divisions within the 1.4 billion-member church.
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Pope Leo XIV Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here is a look at the life of Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff from the United States. Personal Birth date: September 14, 1955 Birth place: Chicago, Illinois Birth name: Robert Francis Prevost Father: Louis Prevost, school superintendent Mother: Mildred Martínez Prevost, librarian Education: Villanova University, B.S. in mathematics, 1977; Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Master of Divinity, 1982; Pontifical C…
The voice that opened the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV was that of a young Spanish woman. Mariola Borrell, an architect and Barcelona illustrator of 34 years, was in charge of doing the first reading of the Mass of enthronement of the new Pope, before a crowd of 150,000 people and representatives from more than 150 countries.The ceremony, which marked the beginning of the pontificate of the first American Pope, Robert Francis Prevost —now Leo XIV…
But thousands of people have waited the turn to see the Pope. The story of the day
Paddy Agnew in Rome: Peace tops the agenda for Pope Leo as he uses inaugural mass to highlight wars in Ukraine and Gaza
On a bright sunny day in the Vatican yesterday, Pope Leo XIV symbolically took full possession of the seat of Saint Peter as two potent symbols of his authority, the papal ring and the pallium (stole), were bestowed on him during a lavish inaugural mass on the steps of St Peter’s Basilica.
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