By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
POMP, PRAYER, and calls for peace defined the historic moment as the first American pontiff officially assumed leadership of the Roman Catholic Church before a sea of worshippers gathered at the Vatican.
Tens of thousands raised their voices and cameras as Pope Leo XIV, clad in traditional white vestments, entered St Peter’s Square in an open-top Popemobile to begin the solemn inauguration Mass.
The newly installed pope, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, received the Ring of the Fisherman and the woollen pallium—symbols rooted in ancient Christian tradition that bind the papacy to its earliest shepherd, Saint Peter.
As he stood before the crowd of 200,000, Leo, visibly moved, invoked unity and humility in his first homily as the 267th head of the Catholic Church.
“With fear and trembling,” he declared, “I approach the church’s faithful as a brother.”
His words, carried across the square by speakers and echoed in the solemn silence of the masses, drew attention not just to the rituals of succession but also to the fractures and hopes that define the world’s largest religious body today.
Dignitaries from across the globe bore witness to the transition. Among them were Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The pope personally greeted each guest, including Mr Zelensky, with whom a private audience was scheduled following the ceremony.
As sunlight bathed the Vatican’s historic square, Leo’s words resonated with the spirit of continuity and challenge.
Echoing the messages of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died on 21 April, he urged the Church to renew its mission through compassion rather than coercion. “It is never a question of capturing others by force… but through love,” he said.
A distinct theme of the homily was global suffering—Leo named Ukraine, Gaza, and Myanmar as wounded regions needing urgent peace.
He reminded worshippers of the children in Gaza reduced to hunger, the innocent lives lost in Myanmar, and Ukraine’s longing for negotiations toward “a fair and lasting peace.”
The Vatican confirmed this Mass formally marked the start of Pope Leo’s pontificate, concluding a dramatic chapter that began with Francis’s funeral on 26 April and proceeded swiftly to the conclave, where white smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel on 8 May to signal Leo’s election.
Though politics shadowed the moment—Mr Vance’s attendance was widely seen as a possible reconciliation with the Vatican after tensions with Pope Francis—Leo’s tone was spiritual and conciliatory.
He expressed deep gratitude, and a vision of leadership aimed at preserving the Church’s “rich heritage” while confronting modern challenges.
In Latin, he prayed to be a worthy successor of Saint Peter. Around him, the faithful stood shoulder to shoulder, drawn from every continent, united by faith and stirred by history unfolding.
As his first Mass came to a close, the pontiff once again pleaded for peace. His voice, both solemn and urgent, cut through the pageantry.
“The martyred Ukraine is waiting,” he said. “Let the world not delay the path to justice.”
