Pope Leo to hold inaugural mass in front of world leaders and crowds of 250,000
The inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV will be held at St Peter's Square at 10am local time on Sunday in front of world leaders and around 250,000 pilgrims.
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The service will mark the official start of the papacy of Pope Leo XIV, the first ever North American pontiff.
The inaugural mass is expected be attended by world leaders including US vice-president JD Vance, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney and Britain's Prince Edward, who will represent King Charles.
Pope Leo is expected to arrive in St Peter's Square by Popemobile, as is tradition for the inaugural papal Sunday mass, and will spend time greeting the crowd.
The pope will then enter St Peter's Basilica alongside a procession of cardinals, where he will receive two gifts that symbolise the papacy.
Read More: Everything we know about Pope Leo XIV, the first-ever American pope
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The first gift is a gold signet fisherman's ring, which represents the beginning and end of a papacy. When a pontiff dies, the ring is destroyed by a senior cardinal.
The second gift is a lamb's wool pallium, which symbolises the pope's role as a shepherd and is draped over his shoulders before the mass.
The Pope will also deliver a homily that will offer insight into his personality. He is expected to raise the issue of global conflict, which has been the topic of many of his posts on X since becoming Pope.
War is never inevitable. Weapons can and must fall silent, for they never solve problems but only intensify them. Those who sow peace will endure throughout history, not those who reap victims. Others are not enemies to hate but human beings with whom to speak.
— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) May 14, 2025
"Peace" was the first word he spoke to crowds when he greeted them from the balcony of St Peter's basilica after being elected last Thursday.
Each pope is free to make small changes to the ceremony in order to make it more personal.
The late Pope Francis used an open-top jeep instead of the popemobile during his inauguration in 2013, making the decision to forgo the bulletproof casing used by previous popes in order to get closer to the crowds.
Robert Prevost, 69, was elected Pope earlier this month after a conclave that lasted less than 26 hours.
He was born in Chicago in 1955 and holds both American and Peruvian citizenship.
JD Vance, who met the late Pope Francis in the Vatican the day before he died, and the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will represent the US at the inaugural mass.
Before his election as Pope, Prevost made several posts on an X account - now deleted - that criticised US President Donald Trump's administration.
One post directly criticised JD Vance, sharing a link to an article titled: "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others."
Both Donald Trump and JD Vance congratulated the Pope on his election.
Pope Leo XIV will now be active on social media through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram, according to the Vatican.
The "official account of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV", currently has 18.6 million followers on X.