Pope Leo XIV Officially Took Office And Delivered His First Sermon

• 18.05.2025, 15:08

The Pontiff called for love and unity.

Pope Leo XIV officially took office as Pontiff and proclaimed his first homily calling for "love and unity," writes La Stampa.

Pope Leo's inaugural Mass was attended by more than four thousand co-celebrants. The Mass of the Pope's enthronement was said in Spanish and English, the most widely spoken languages in the world, but also in the two languages of the Pope's superior.

After the proclamation of the Gospel (in Latin and Greek), the special rites of the beginning of the Pontificate were performed: the laying on of the pallium and the presentation of the fisherman's ring.

Cardinal Deacon Dominic Mamberti placed a white woolen pallium, a symbol of pastoral mission and communion with the universal Church, on Pope Leo's shoulders.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines placed a fisherman's ring, a symbol of the pope's authority, on Leo's finger. It also marks Leo as the successor of St. Peter, the fisherman apostle and first pope, who began his papacy around 30 AD.

The Pope's First Sermon

Leo XIV said in his sermon that the authority of the Church should be based on charity, not on "religious propaganda or force."

He called for a unified Church that welcomes all, values diversity and rejects hatred and division, citing St. Peter's challenge to "love more."

"In our time, we still see too many divisions, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the earth's resources and marginalizes the poorest," he said.

In its place, he called for a world where "peace reigns."

"It is the missionary spirit that should inspire us; not to shut ourselves up in our small groups and not to feel superior to the world," he said.

Leo also praised "the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of each people."

He asked: if love prevailed, "would not all conflicts cease and peace return?"