Pope Leo XIV will give his first Sunday blessing and handle to a crowd in St Peter’s Sq. within the Vatican right this moment.
He’ll recite the Regina Caeli prayer, in honour of the Virgin Mary, in his first public handle since his election was introduced with white smoke on Thursday.
After delivering Sunday mass, Pope Leo will bless these gathered on the sq. exterior – and ship his reflections.
On Saturday, he visited a shrine exterior Rome after which prayed earlier than the tomb of his late predecessor Francis contained in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Pope Leo might be formally inaugurated at a mass in St Peter’s Sq. subsequent week on 18 Might.
The Pope was chosen as the brand new chief of the Catholic Church on Thursday, following a two-day conclave in Vatican Metropolis.
It has been a busy week for the pontiff, who held his first Mass as Pope within the Sistine chapel on Friday earlier than chatting with cardinals on Saturday.
Throughout this assembly, he described himself as an unworthy alternative for Pope, and vowed to proceed the “treasured legacy” of his predecessor.
He highlighted the significance of missionary work and dialogue – in addition to look after these he known as the “least and the rejected”.
He defined he had chosen the title Leo after a Nineteenth-century Pope recognized for his educating on social justice.
The brand new Pope additionally recommended the event of synthetic intelligence and different advances meant the church was vital right this moment for the defence of human dignity and justice.
He is because of hold an audience with the media on Monday forward of his inauguration subsequent Sunday.
As a part of that mass he’ll ship a homily within the presence of quite a few heads of state and dignitaries.
The 69-year-old is the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter, and the primary American to turn out to be a pontiff. He’ll lead members of the Catholic Church’s international neighborhood of 1.4bn folks.
Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, he labored for a few years as a missionary in Peru earlier than being made an archbishop there. He additionally has Peruvian nationality.
Though Leo was born within the US, the Vatican described him because the second pope from the Americas. Pope Francis, from Argentina, was the primary.
Pope Leo is broadly seen as a average who can provide “continuity” and “unity” following the dying of his predecessor final month.
The brand new pontiff is believed to have shared Francis’ views on migrants, the poor and the surroundings.
In his first speech he told the crowds he wished “to stroll along with you as a united Church looking all collectively for peace and justice”.
