As Pope Leo is formally inaugurated, he calls for unity, peace in a polarized Catholic Church and world

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV vowed Sunday to work for unity in a polarized Catholic Church and world, as history’s first American pope offered a message of healing 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 media draw. The 69-year-old Augustinian missionary smiled and waved from the back of the truck to people waving U.S., Peruvian and other national flags, 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 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide had just sunk in.

He turned his hand to look at the ring and then clasped his hands in front of him in prayer.

Vice President JD Vance, one of the last foreign officials to see Pope Francis before he died, led the U.S. delegation honoring the Chicago-born Leo. Vance paid his respects at the Argentine pope’s tomb after arriving in Rome late Saturday.

He was joined by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Rome ahead of time to try to advance Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also in attendance, and he met later with Leo and separately with Vance and Rubio.

The theme of Leo’s papacy

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.

“I would like that our first great desire be for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world,” he said. “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.”

His call for unity was significant given the polarization within the Roman Catholic Church in the United States and beyond.

Francis’ 12-year pontificate, which emphasized care for the poor and marginalized and disdain for the capitalist economic system, often alienated conservatives who begged for a new pope who could pacify divisions. Leo’s May 8 election, after a remarkably quick 24-hour conclave, appears to have pleased conservative Catholics who seem to appreciate his more disciplined, traditional style and Augustinian background, emphasizing core truths of Catholic doctrine.

Leo drove that message home by wearing the formal red cape of the papacy, or mozzetta, to receive Vance and official government delegations after the Mass. Francis had eschewed many of the formalities of the papacy as part of his simple style, but Leo’s return to the traditional garb has pleased conservatives and traditionalists who cheered when he came out onto the the loggia wearing the red cape on May 8.

Leo did, however, break protocol when he gave his older brother, Louis Prevost, a bear hug in the basilica when he and his wife came up to greet the pope.

“Let us 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,” Leo said, referencing some of the themes of Francis’ pontificate as well.

Tight security and protocol

Strict diplomatic protocol dictated the seating arrangements at the inaugural Mass, with both the United States and Peru getting front-row seats thanks to Leo’s dual citizenship.

Vance, a Catholic convert who tangled with Francis over the Trump administration’s mass migrant deportation plans, and Rubio headed the American delegation. Peruvian President Dina Boluarte was one of around a dozen heads of state who attended, including Zelensky. Russia had planned to send its culture minister but was represented by its ambassador, reports said.

Diplomatic protocol also dictated the dress code: While most wore black, the handful of Catholic queens and princesses — Letizia of Spain and Charlene of Monaco among others — wore white in a special privilege allowed them. Three dozen of the world’s other Christian churches sent their own delegations, and the Jewish community had a 13-member delegation, half of them rabbis. Other representatives headed Buddhist, Muslim, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Sikh and Jain delegations.

Security was tight, as it was for Francis’ funeral on April 26, which drew an estimated 250,000 people. The Vatican said 200,000 were on hand Sunday in the piazza and surrounding streets, parks and piazzas, where giant television screens and portable toilets were set up.

At the end of the Mass, Leo expressed hope for negotiations to bring a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine and offered prayers for the people of Gaza — children, families and elderly who are “reduced to starvation,” he said. Leo made no mention of hostages taken by Hamas from southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, as Francis usually did when praying for Gaza.

Zelensky later had a formal audience with Leo at the Vatican and then met with Vance and Rubio at the U.S. residence in Rome. In a post on X, Zelensky said he stressed the need for a “full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible” and for diplomatic pressure on Russia “until they are eager to stop the war.”

Americans are rejoicing

Susan Hanssen, a professor born in Chicago and just arrived in Rome to teach, said she thought Leo’s homily about unity would resonate in the U.S. and beyond. “I think he will inspire,” she said after Mass. “What I particularly loved was the phrasing, unity within the doctrine of the faith, and then in love.”

U.S. seminarian Ethan Menning, 21, from Omaha wrapped himself in an American flag, which he bought at an Iowa truck stop, to celebrate.

“Rome always felt like home for a Catholic, but now coming here and seeing one of our own on the throne of Peter ... it almost makes Jesus himself more accessible,” he said.

The two symbols of the papacy handed to Leo were the pallium stole and the fisherman’s ring. The pallium, draped across his shoulders, symbolizes the pastor carrying his flock as the pope carries the faithful. The ring, which becomes Leo’s official seal, harks back to Jesus’ call to the apostle Peter to cast his fishing nets.

The other symbolically important moment of the Mass was the representational rite of obedience to Leo, performed by cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, nuns, a Peruvian married couple and two young people.

Winfield writes for the Associated Press. AP journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto, David Biller and Isaia Monteleone contributed to this report.