VATICAN CITY — Before a crowd of more than 100,000 pilgrims, world leaders, and interfaith delegates, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, May 18, 2025, formally inaugurated his papacy with a message of humility, unity, and global fraternity during a solemn Mass in Saint Peter’s Square.
The Mass marked the official beginning of his Petrine ministry, weeks after the death of Pope Francis, and was attended by representatives of major Christian denominations and faith traditions including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, and Jainism.
“Following the death of Pope Francis, we felt like sheep without a shepherd,” Pope Leo said in his homily, recalling the emotional days that followed his predecessor’s passing.
“Yet having received his final blessing on Easter Sunday, and with eyes of faith, hope, and joy, we remembered how the Lord never abandons His people.”
Addressing the global audience, the 268th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church offered heartfelt thanks for the “prayerful and joyful support” he has received, acknowledging the spiritual gravity of his new role.
“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,” he said.
Pope Leo described his vision for the Church as one rooted in love and unity — the twin themes he said defined the mission entrusted to Peter by Christ.
Drawing from the Sunday Gospel reading, he reflected on the call to be “fishers of men” and bring “the hope of the Gospel” to all people so that they may “experience God’s embrace.”
He emphasised that Peter’s leadership was not founded on perfection, but on grace and love.
“Peter’s experience of the infinite and unconditional love of God,” even in the face of personal failure, the Pope said, enabled him to love more deeply and to “give his life for the flock” in self-sacrificing service.
That example, he suggested, should guide the Church in its mission to be a sign of unity in a world fraught with “hatred, violence, prejudice, fear, and economic reality that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest.”
“We want to be a small leaven of unity, communion, and fraternity within the world,” Pope Leo declared.
“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.”
He also extended a hand to other Christian denominations and followers of other faiths, calling for shared efforts to build a new world where peace reigns.
“This is the path to follow together… with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will.”
Rejecting any vision of a closed or self-referential Church, the Pope affirmed the Church’s missionary identity as one that embraces diversity, history, and cultural context.
“We are called to offer God’s love to everyone,” he said, “in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.”
In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV called on Christians worldwide to be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to 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.”
