Window to the World, calling for Wind of Wisdom, as common sense is a gift to each soul, as common environment is the inseparable planet, as common desire is to live in a better world.
First American Pope Leo XIV, also a Peruvian citizen, calls for unity and reconciliation, “to build bridges with dialogue and encounter so we can all be one people always in peace”
“In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest,” the new pope said in his homily during his inauguration Mass May 18.
“For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world,” he told the estimated 150,000 people gathered in and around St. Peter’s Square. “We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: ‘In the one Christ, we are one.’” A version of the quote from St. Augustine is the pope’s episcopal motto and is featured on his coat of arms.
Ecumenical and interreligious guests and more than 100 government delegations joined the new pope for Mass in St. Peter’s Square. Among the Christian leaders present was Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, along with other delegations from the Orthodox churches, the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Methodist Council, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and various evangelical and Pentecostal communities. Representatives of the Jewish community as well as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Jain traditions also were in attendance.
Reflecting on the Gospel reading from St. John — in which Jesus asks St. Peter three times to tend to his sheep — Pope Leo said in his homily that the ministry of Peter is rooted not in authority for its own sake, but in love that serves and unites. “Peter is thus entrusted with the task of ‘loving more’ and giving his life for the flock,” he said. “The ministry of Peter 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.”
“I was chosen, without any merit of my own, 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 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,” he said, calling for a church that “proclaims the word, allows itself to be made ‘restless’ by history and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.”
About 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide have a new spiritual leader: Pope Leo XIV. The election of Robert Francis Prevost, who chose the name Leo XIV, as the 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church marks two historic firsts. Leo is the first-ever U.S.-born pope to lead the church and the first pope from the Augustinian order.
On Thursday, the new pope appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and delivered a short speech. His opening words were “Peace be with all of you!” The 69-year-old pontiff added that he wanted his message of peace to “enter your hearts, reach your families and all people, wherever they are.” During his address, he spoke in Italian, Spanish and Latin. The new pope thanked his fellow cardinals for selecting him. He also expressed gratitude to his former diocese in Peru and spoke warmly of Pope Francis, his late predecessor, before ending his remarks with a prayer.
The new pope was born in Chicago in 1955, according to Vatican News. His father is of French and Italian descent, while his mother is of Spanish descent. Leo studied at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers. He went on to attend Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he received a degree in mathematics. He later pursued his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
Although the new pontiff is American, one of the most significant chapters of his ministry took place in Peru. Prevost served there for roughly two decades. He was appointed as Bishop of Chiclayo in 2014, promoted to archbishop in 2023, and then cardinal in the following year. Over the course of his career, he has also taught canon law, patristics and moral law.
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV, history’s first American pope, vowed Sunday to work for unity so that the Catholic Church becomes a symbol of peace in the world, offering a message of communion during an inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square before an estimated 200,000 pilgrims, presidents, patriarchs and princes.
Leo officially opened his pontificate by taking his first popemobile tour through the piazza, a rite of passage that has become synonymous with the papacy’s global reach and mediatic draw. The 69-year-old Augustinian missionary smiled and waved from the back of the truck, and stopped to bless some babies in the crowd.
During the Mass, Leo appeared to choke up when the two potent symbols of the papacy were placed on him — the lambswool stole over his shoulders and the fisherman’s ring on his finger — as if the weight of responsibility of leading the 1.4-billion strong church had just sunk in. He turned his hand to look at the ring and seal and then clasped his hands in front of him in prayer.
In his homily, Leo said he wanted to be a servant to the faithful through the two dimensions of the papacy, love and unity, so that the church could be a force for peace in the world. His call for unity was significant, given the polarization in the Catholic Church in the United States and beyond.
