Pope Leo XIV spoke on Sunday of notable times during which he has been elevated to the papacy, saying during his first homily as a pontiff that will throw himself to the task “with fear and tremor”, while he still seeks to serve everyone with “Fe y Alegría.”
That homily was delivered during the inaugural Mass of the American Pope, called Holy Mass for the beginning of the Pontificate, in the Basilica of San Pedro in the Vatican. An open Popemobile had led Leo on Sunday morning through the Plaza de San Pedro, where about 100,000 people had met to glimpse him, according to the Vatican press office.
The Pope said during his homily that there is “too much discord, too many injuries caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, fear of difference and the economic paradigm that exploits the resources of the earth and marginalizes the poorest.”
Cardinal Luis Tagle places the fisherman’s ring on the finger of Pope Leo XIV during the inaugural Mass in the Plaza de San Pedro in El Vaticano, on May 18, 2025.
Domenico Stinellis/AP
He asked that the 1,400 million Catholics in the world adopted a “missionary spirit”, instead of closing “in our small groups.” He asked the faithful to rule out the feelings of being “superior to the world.”
Pope Leo XIV in his Popemobile Tours St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican before the inaugural mass of his pontificate, Sunday, May 18, 2025.
Andrew Medichini/AP
“We are called to offer God’s love to all, to achieve that unity that does not cancel the differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of each people,” he said.
Mass attendees, which marks the official beginning of Leo’s papacy, included vice president JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with other political figures and religious dignitaries.
Pope Leo XIV speaks with the Vice President of the United States.
Alberto Pizzoli/AFP through Getty Images
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended. And representatives of the ecumenical, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikhs, Zoroastrian and Jainhists were there, said the Vatican’s Santa Headquarters press office.
The president of Ukraine, Volodymr Zelenskyy, on the left, and vice president JD Vance greets himself as Secretary of State Frame Rubio, Centro, looks ahead of the formal inauguration of Pope Leo XIV of his pontificate with a Mass in the Plaza de San Pedro assisted by the heads of state, Royaly and Fe Featful, Sunday, May 18, 2025.
Gregorio Borgia/AP
Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greeted each other and shake hands before the Mass. The Vatican said that the Pope was expected to celebrate a private audience with Zelenskyy on Sunday. The Pope met with the Peruvian president Dina Boluarte before the Mass, said the Vatican.
Leo, who was previously Cardinal Robert Prevost, is a 69 -year -old native of Chicago, Illinois. Chosen on May 8, he is the first American to direct the Church.
Cardinal Luis Tagle places the fisherman’s ring on the finger of Pope Leo XIV during the inaugural Mass in the Plaza de San Pedro in El Vaticano, on May 18, 2025.
Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
During the ceremony, Cardinal Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle introduced Leo with his fisherman’s ring. Leo will use that ring, which celebrates San Pedro, who was the first Pope, throughout his papacy.
Pope Francis, the predecessor of Leo, died on April 21, after he was discharged from a stay in a hospital of a week. The newly installed pontiff also paid tribute, saying that on Sunday his death “filled our ears with sadness.”
And gave an idea of the papal conclave that saw him chosen earlier this month.
Pope Leo XIV greets the multitude of Popemobile before a Holy Mass for the beginning of his pontificate, in the Plaza de San Pedro in El Vaticano on May 18, 2025.
Tiziana Fabi/AFP through Getty Images
When 133 Cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel, “they could feel the functioning of the Holy Spirit,” Leo said to the crowd on Sunday, adding that the spirit “could take us to harmony, such as musical instruments, so that our hearts of heart could vibrate in a single melody.”
“I was chosen, without my own merit, and now, with fear and tremor, I come to you as a brother,” he said, “that he wants to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you in the path of the love of God, because he wants everyone to be united in a family.”
People fills the Plaza de San Pedro as Pope Leo XIV leads the Holy Mass for the beginning of the pontificate, in the Plaza de San Pedro, in the city of the Vatican, on May 18, 2025.
Massimo I beat/EPA-EFE/Shutter/Massimo Busi/EPA-EFE/ShuttersTock
By the time the Prayer of Regina Caeli is read, towards the end of the Mass, the crowds in the square and those that border the surrounding streets had increased to about 200,000 people, according to the Vatican press office.
Pope Leo XIV holds a baby when he arrives in front of the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV in the Plaza de San Pedro, May 18, 2025 in the city of the Vatican.
David Ramos/Getty Images
Leo, in comments before prayer, offered a warm welcome to those thousands, thanking many for making pilgrimages from the background. He said that during the Mass “he felt strongly the spiritual presence of Pope Francis that accompanied us to heaven.” And closed urging the faithful to “support and comfort for those who suffer.”
“In the joy of faith and communion, we cannot forget our brothers and sisters who suffer from war,” he said. “In Gaza, surviving children, families and the elderly are reduced to hunger. In Myanmar, new hostilities have shortened innocent young lives. Finally, Ukraine, devastated by war, expects negotiations for just and lasting peace.”
Megan Forrester and Phoebe Natanson of ABC News contributed to this report.
