Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV, history’s first US-born pontiff, said on Friday that his election was both a cross to bear and a blessing as he celebrated his first Mass as the head of the Catholic Church.
Pope Leo XIV spoke off-the-cuff in English in the Sistine Chapel to the cardinals who elected him to follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who put a commitment to social justice at the core of his papacy. He acknowledged the great responsibility they had placed on him before delivering a brief but dense homily on the need to joyfully spread Christianity in a world that often mocks it.
“You have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission, and I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me as we continue as a church, as a community, as friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the good news, to announce the Gospel,” he said.
It was in the same frescoed chapel that Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago-born Augustinian missionary Robert Prevost, was elected on Thursday afternoon as the 267th pope, overcoming the traditional taboo against a pope from the United States because of the secular power the country wields.
The new pontiff will be formally installed as pope at a Mass on May 18, the Vatican said on Friday, and will preside over his first general audience May 21.
Pope Leo XIV had asked all heads of Vatican offices, who technically lost their jobs with the death of Pope Francis, to return to work until further notice, according to the Vatican. It said he wanted to take time for “reflection, prayer and dialogue” before taking any further decisions on confirming them definitively.
Two women delivered the readings of Scripture at the start of the Mass, perhaps an indication of the pontiff’s intention to continue Pope Francis’ focus on expanding women’s role in the Church. As a cardinal, Pope Leo XIV put into practice one of Pope Francis’ most revolutionary reforms by having three women serve on the Vatican board that vets bishop nominations.
Speaking in near-perfect Italian, Pope Leo XIV lamented that the Christian faith in many parts of the world is “considered absurd”, mocked or opposed in the face of temptations such as money, success and power. He complained that in many places Jesus is misunderstood, “reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman”.
“This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptised Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism,” he said. “A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”
The cardinals applauded as the Mass concluded. Pope Leo XIV was seen wearing simple black shoes — eschewing, as Pope Francis did, the red loafers of the papacy preferred by some traditionalist popes.
Shortly thereafter, the Vatican said the new pope had asked all Vatican leaders, who technically lost their jobs when Pope Francis died April 21, to remain in their posts.
