Pope Leo celebrates Mass on May 18. Credit: CatholicVote (McKenna Snow)
VATICAN CITY // Pope Leo XIV formally began his pontificate May 18 with an inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square, where he received the fisherman’s ring and papal Pallium and preached on the importance of unity within the Church.
At the beginning of the homily Pope Leo, an Augustinian, had quoted the saint’s words that all hearts are restless until they rest in God. He said that there have been intense emotions in recent days, marked especially by the death of Pope Francis, but that God’s closeness remained evident even amid the difficulties.
With such faith in mind, Pope Leo said, the Cardinals convened for the conclave, and “placed in God’s hands our desire to elect the new Successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world.”
He said the cardinals, helped especially by the prayers of the faithful, could tell the Holy Spirit was at work in bringing them in unison for who to elect.
“I was chosen, without any merit of my own,” Pope Leo said, “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.”
He spoke on love and unity as core aspects of the mission that Jesus entrusts to Peter, who must give his life for his flock. Peter’s mission “is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ,” Pope Leo said. “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.”
Building fraternal communion is also essential, Pope Leo emphasized. He said that “Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him. On the contrary, he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them, for all of us are ‘living stones’….”
All baptized persons are called to build this communion, he said: “Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.”
He urged the faithful be animated by a missionary spirit, and to help all people to look towards Christ and receive His offer of love.
“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,” Pope Leo said. “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?’
Concluding, he said, “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.”
Bestowal of the fisherman’s ring, papal pallium
Before the homily, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle bestowed Pope Leo with the fisherman’s ring, which has an image of St. Peter on the outside and the papal crest of Pope Leo on the inside. Pope Leo could be seen becoming emotional at receiving the ring, which he thoughtfully looked at on his hand for a moment before returning to prayer.
Cardinal Mario Zenari gave him the papal pallium, which is a white wool sash worn around the pope’s shoulders that symbolizes “the bishop as the good shepherd and, at the same time, of the Lamb Crucified for the salvation of the human race,” the Vatican Mass booklet for the May 18 Mass explains. The pallium has three pins on it that represent the three nails of Christ’s cross.
Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of the Eucharist, Regina Caeli address
For the day’s liturgy, Pope Leo chose to carry a papal ferula, or pastoral staff, that has strong connections especially to St. Pope John Paul II. It was the same papal ferula Pope Leo chose for celebrating his first Sunday Mass as pontiff on May 11.
At the beginning of the May 18 Mass, Pope Leo, accompanied by patriarchs of the Eastern Churches, walked to the tomb of St. Peter to pray. When the Holy Father returned and joined the procession, the schola sang in Latin of the triumph of Jesus and prayed with the congregation for the new pope.
Over 200,000 people attended the Mass, according to Vatican News. The congregation and schola also prayed for the intercession of the apostles and many other saints to come to the aid of Pope Leo XIV, intermittently singing, Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands. The schola then prayed for the elected officials and all others present, again with a litany of saints. Numerous international political officials attended the Mass, including US Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Liturgy of the Word began with a reading proclaimed from chapter four of the Acts of the Apostles, in which Peter preaches the Gospel and asserts of Jesus Christ: “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
The second reading was from chapter five of the First Letter of Saint Peter, in which he tells fellow Christian elders: “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”
The Gospel was John 21:15-19, first proclaimed in Latin, and then proclaimed a second time in Greek. The passage recounts Jesus instructing Peter to “Tend my sheep” and “Feed my lambs,” and is the same Gospel passage that was proclaimed at Pope Francis’ April 26 funeral.
Pope Leo celebrated the liturgy of the Eucharist primarily in Latin, and at the conclusion of the Mass – which came almost at noon – gave the Regina Caeli address. He spoke about Pope Francis, victims of war, and Our Lady under the title “Star of the Sea.”
“[A]s we entrust to Mary the service of the Bishop of Rome, Pastor of the universal Church, let us, from the ‘Barque of Peter,’ look to her, Star of the Sea, Our Lady of Good Counsel, as a sign of hope,” Pope Leo said. “We implore her intercession for the gift of peace, for support and comfort for those who suffer, and for the grace for all of us to be witnesses to the Risen Lord.”