VATICAN CITY — Tens of thousands of Catholics and politicians including US Vice President JD Vance will gather at the Vatican on Sunday for the inauguration mass of Leo XIV, the first US
Tens of thousands of Catholics and politicians including US Vice President JD Vance will gather at the Vatican on Sunday for the inauguration mass of Leo XIV, the first US pope.
Ten days after the soft-spoken Robert Francis Prevost was chosen from among his fellow cardinals to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, his papacy will formally begin in a ceremony at St Peter’s Square.
The mass begins at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) but Pope Leo will at 9:00 am make his first foray into the crowd in the popemobile, the specially adapted vehicle often used by the late Pope Francis to motor among his flock.
Leo will then begin a ceremony rich in rites and symbols, including receiving his special papal ring, before giving a homily that will set the tone for his papacy.
After spending two decades as missionary in Peru, the 69-year-old from Chicago is unknown to many Catholics, but during the past week he has offered glimpses of the kind of leader he will be.
In meetings with journalists, clergy and diplomats, he has repeated called for peace in a world full of conflicts, and defended social justice.
