A crowd of over 200,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square and along the Via della Conciliazione to attend the Mass inaugurating the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV this Sunday.
Editorial (18/05/2025 09:34, Gaudium Press) The Pope’s morning began with a lengthy passage through the crowd in the popemobile at 9 a.m., traversing the paths of St. Peter’s Square and entering Italian territory up to the end of the Via della Conciliazione, between the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo. It was the first time Leo XIV was among the pilgrims, smiling, greeting the faithful, and being acclaimed by the crowd. The popemobile then disappeared under the “arco delle campane” (bell arch), the vaulted passage to the left of the Basilica leading to the sacristy.
In Front of the Tomb of the Prince of the Apostles
Outside, the crowd watched the beginning of the celebration on giant screens. The Pope paused for a few moments before the tomb of Peter, just below the Altar of the Confession in the Vatican Basilica. He was accompanied by the patriarchs of the Eastern Churches. Then, the Holy Father proceeded in procession to the altar in the square in front of the Basilica, passing through the central nave and beneath the immense tapestry depicting the miraculous catch of fish, symbolizing that, following in Christ’s footsteps, the Pope is also a “fisher of men.”
Shortly before the procession, two deacons placed the fisherman’s ring and the pallium on the altar, which would be given to the new Pontiff after the proclamation of the Gospel. Beside the altar stood Our Lady of Good Counsel from the Marian Shrine of Genazzano, an Augustinian sanctuary visited by the Pope the day after his election, marking his first outing from the Vatican.
The presentation of the insignia followed a precise rite. Three cardinals from the three orders—deacons, priests, and bishops—presented the pallium and the ring to the Successor of Peter and offered a prayer invoking the Lord’s assistance, through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, so that the Pope may exercise his ministry according to the received charism.
The Sheep Are No Longer Without a Shepherd
Leo XIV began his homily by greeting everyone “with a heart full of gratitude” and quoting one of Saint Augustine’s most famous phrases: “You have made us for Yourself, [Lord,] and our heart is restless until it rests in You” (Confessions, 1,1.1).
He then paid tribute to his predecessor, Francis. His death “filled our hearts with sadness, and in those difficult hours, we felt like the crowds described in the Gospel as ‘sheep without a shepherd.'” Referring to the conclave, the Bishop of Rome recounted that the cardinals, “from different backgrounds and ways of life,” had “placed in God’s hands the desire to elect the new successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of guarding the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking far ahead to meet the questions, concerns, and challenges of today.” The Holy Spirit, he continued, “then knew how to tune the musical instruments, making the strings of our hearts vibrate in a single melody.”
Pope Leo: Love and Unity
“I was chosen without any merit, and with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother who wishes to become a servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, who desires that we all be united in one family.” Leo XIV clarified: “The Church of Rome presides in charity, and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It’s not about capturing others with arrogance, religious propaganda, or means of power, but always and only about loving as Jesus did.” For Leo XIV, the role of the Successor of Peter is to “shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation of being a solitary leader or a chief placed above others, becoming a dominator of the people entrusted to him; on the contrary, he must serve the faith of the brothers, walking with them.”
A Church Open to the World and Missionary
Therefore, together with the College of Cardinals, “the Pope’s closest collaborators,” and with the people of the baptized, Leo XIV wishes to fulfill a “first great desire”: “a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, that becomes leaven for a reconciled world,” while our time suffers from “much discord, many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, fear of the different, by an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.” The Sovereign Pontiff insists that the Church must be a leaven of unity, communion, and fraternity. “In the one Christ, we are one,” says Leo XIV, repeating his motto “In illo uno unum,” inspired by a sermon of Saint Augustine, for it is by becoming leaven in the unity of Christ that the Church is called to be missionary and “offer God’s love to all,” opening its arms to the world, without closing itself in its “small group,” or feeling “superior to the world.” Unity, concludes the new Bishop of Rome, “does not annul differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of each people.”
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj
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