Pope Leo XIV urges rejection of hatred and division at his inaugural mass

After leaving the Marines and beginning his higher education, Vice President JD Vance drifted into atheism — struggling, he would eventually write, with feelings of “irrelevance” in his faith and with “a desire for social acceptance among American elites.”

Vance, who later converted to Catholicism, this weekend made his second trip to the Vatican in less than a month. On the first visit, Vance met with Pope Francis on Easter, hours before he died. On Sunday, Vance led a U.S. delegation at the inaugural Mass of the first U.S.-born pope, Leo XIV.

Both pontiffs — Francis during his papacy, Leo in his prior service as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost — offered veiled but easily decipherable rebukes of President Donald Trump and Vance’s “America first” worldview.

Vance, somewhat uncharacteristically for someone who so relishes debate, has chosen to politely sidestep criticism. But the circumstances of the last few weeks have put an unexpected spotlight on his religion, reinforcing his status as one of the world’s highest-ranking Catholics in political office.

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President Zelenksyy said he had a "good meeting" with Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio after Pope Leo XIV's inauguration mass.

"We discussed the talks in Istanbul, where the Russians sent a low-level delegation that had no decision-making authority," he posted on Telegram. "I reaffirmed Ukraine’s readiness for real diplomacy and emphasized the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible."

Zelenskyy said the group also discussed the need for sanctions against Russia and defense cooperation.

"Pressure on Russia must continue until it is ready to stop the war," he said, while offering thanks to the American people for their support.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he met with Pope Leo XIV following his inauguration, and thanked the Vatican for its readiness to host direct talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Pope Leo XIV during a private audience with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today.  Vatican Media / AFP - Getty Images

At the close of his inauguration Mass, Pope Leo XIV turned his thoughts to war-torn regions as he recited the Regina Caeli.

He reminded the faithful in attendance that “Ukraine awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of Pope Leo XIV's inauguration today.

It is the first time that Zelenskyy has met with Vance since their fiery encounter at The White House in February.

The meeting took place at the Villa Taverna, the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Rome.

Louis Prevost broke protocol inside St. Peter's Basilica today as he gave his brother, Pope Leo XIV, an almighty hug after lining up with dignitaries to see the pontiff.

Footage inside the Basilica captured the moment Louis and his wife held an emotional reunion with Leo.

The vast majority of those who waited to meet the pope were greeted with a handshake, with many kissing the ring on his hand.

Pope Leo XIV’s vestments reflects ancient tradition and papal authority. 

Though the papal tiara, symbolizing spiritual, temporal and supreme power, is still revered, no pope has worn it since Paul VI (1963-1978), who sold his for charity. Today, it resides in Washington, D.C.

Pope Leo XIV wearing the Fisherman's Ring and the pallium. Vatican Media / AFP - Getty Images

Instead, Leo dons the pallium, a white band embroidered with six black silk crosses, made by Benedictine nuns from blessed lambswool. Fastened with pins recalling Christ’s crucifixion, it signifies pastoral duty and unity with the global Church.

Finally, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle placed the Fisherman’s Ring on Leo's finger. It is made of solid gold and engraved with Leo's name and an image of St. Peter, the fisherman apostle, casting a net. Once a seal for documents, it now embodies papal authority and tradition, and is customarily destroyed upon his death. 

Jim Danza, 56, and his son Jake, 22, both Villanova University grads, flew into Rome on a long-planned trip, unaware they'd be there to see Pope Leo XIV, a graduate of the same Catholic university.

"It was crazy when we found out the pope was from America," said Jim. "To know that he went to Villanova as well is amazing."

Jake, who graduated yesterday, said there was "an overwhelming sense of pride on campus."

"It means a little bit more now.” Jim reflected, “It’s something special to know you walked the same hallways as the leader of the Catholic Church.”

At the close of his inauguration Mass, Pope Leo XIV turned his thoughts to war-torn regions as he recited the Regina Caeli.

“In Gaza,” he said, “the surviving children, families and elderly are reduced to starvation,” before lamenting renewed violence in Myanmar that has "cut short innocent young lives."

He also reminded the faithful in attendance that “Ukraine awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace.” The pontiff is set to hold a private meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later on today.

Pope Leo XIV calls for peace in Gaza and Ukraine during homily

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The Vatican is not just the heart of the Catholic Church, it’s also the world’s smallest independent country.

Officially called Vatican City State, it covers just over 100 acres and is entirely surrounded by Rome.

It was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, and it has its own government, post office and passports. It has an estimated resident population of 882 people, and the pope serves as its head of state

The Vatican's final estimate for the crowd attending Leo's inaugural Mass is 200,000.

Nuns and laypeople praying at St. Peter's Square today. David Ramos / Getty Images

Footage from inside St. Peter's Basilica shows hundreds of people are falling in line to shake hands with Leo, many of them kissing his hand before exchanging brief words with the pontiff.

World leaders, dignitaries, nuns, and the general public are among those gathered in waiting.

The mood at St. Peter's Square was both a solemn and celebratory.

There were also many American flags, many more than in recent memory — and a lot of ecstatic faithful from the U.S.

 Stefano Rellandini / AFP - Getty Images

But Americans were not the only ones flying their flags, people from all over the world were there, from Lebanon, to Spain and Haiti, some held a banner that read: ‘SOS POPE LEO, HAITI NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT.

The pope's global audience with a sea of flags.  Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images

Jubilant crowds cheered ‘papa!’ Italian for pope, upon the conclusion of the mass. Leo smiled and acknowledged the crowd, waving in all directions.

As the hundreds of thousands of attendees collected themselves after the nearly two-and-a-half hour ceremony, some cardinals helped each other straighten their mitres, the liturgical pointed hats.

St. Peter's Square begins to empty. Sean Gallup / Getty Images

Leo greets Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle at the end of Mass.  Tiziana Fabi / AFP - Getty Images

The bells of St. Peter's are ringing after Pope Leo XIV brought his inauguration mass to an end just moments ago.

He is now expected to receive several official delegations in the coming hours, meeting with representatives from dozens of nations who have traveled today for the historic occasion.

The Vatican says Pope Leo XIV will hold a private meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today.

Leo called for a world where “peace reigns," in his homily earlier.

The Vatican also said that Leo received Dina Boluarte, the president of Peru this morning before the start of the ceremony. As Robert Prevost, Leo lived in Peru for two decades, where he was a citizen and served as the Bishop of Chiclayo.

Pope Leo XIV has ended his inauguration mass with his blessing, finishing with the words “Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus,” meaning "May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

According to the Holy See Press Office towards the end of the mass, "There are now about 150,000 faithful present in the Square and the surrounding area."

The audience during the Inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV in St Peter's Square today. Antonio Masiello / Getty Images

A man prays at St. Peter's Square. David Ramos / Getty Images

The Sistine Chapel Choir leads the congregation in the Credo, before people in the crowd turn to each other to offer the sign of peace, many of them turning to shake hands with one another.

Leo then receives Communion, and as in 2013, priests appraoched the crowd, offering communion to the people.

The Fisherman's Ring bears great significance and alignment with the pope’s homily.

The image carved into the the ring of St. Peter with a net is a reference to how the fisherman apostle, along with Christ's other first disciples, were called to be "fishers of men." In this spirit of openness, Pope Leo called for a welcoming church in his homily.

Pope Leo XIV begins his ministry with a homily calling for “love and unity,” the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to St. Peter by Jesus Christ.

The homily, delivered in Italian, offers Leo's vision for the church. In 2013, Pope Francis touched on values that would become hallmarks of his pontificate. 

Leo said that the Church’s authority must be rooted in charity, not by “religious propaganda or by means of power.”

He urged building a united Church that welcomes all, values diversity, and rejects hatred and division, citing St. Peter's task of "loving more."

“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,” he said, according to an English translation provided by the Vatican.

He instead called for a world where “peace reigns.”

“This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world,” he said.

Following in the footsteps of Pope Francis, Leo also celebrated the “personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.” 

Echoing Leo XIII, he asked: if love prevailed, “would not every conflict cease and peace return?”

Pope Leo XIV calls on the church to be a beacon of unity

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Pope Leo XIV stands beneath the altar in St. Peter's Square as six cardinals kiss the his ring, in a gesture of obedience.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines places the ring, a symbol of the pope’s authority, on Leo’s finger. It marks Leo as the sucessor of St. Peter, the fisherman apostle and first pope, who began his papcy circa 30 AD.

Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle places the Fisherman's Ring on the finger of Pope Leo XIV.  Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images

Formerly used as a seal for papal documents, the ring is now a symbol that is broken, destroyed or canceled upon the pontiff’s death.

Watch: Pope Leo XIV bestowed with Fisherman's Ring

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This is how the Vatican describes the papal pallium in the official program:

"Among the liturgical insignia of the Roman Pontiff, one of the most evocative is the pallium made of white wool, symbol of the bishop as the good shepherd and, at the same time, of the Lamb Crucified for the salvation of the human race: the lamb’s wool is meant to represent the lost, sick or weak sheep which the shepherd places on his shoulders and carries to the waters of life.

"The pallium, in its present form, is a straight sash, made of white wool, curved at the center thus allowing if to rest on the shoulders over the chasuble and with two black flaps falling in front and be-hind, so that the vestment reminds one of the letter 'y.' It is decorated with six crosses of black silk, one on each end and four on the incurvature, and is decorated in front and on the back, with three pins (acicula) representing the three nails of Christ’s cross.”

Cardinal Deacon Dominique Mamberti has placed the white wool pallium on Pope Leo’s shoulders, a symbol of the pastoral mission and communion with the universal church.

Mamberti fastening the pallium over Leo's shoulders. Sean Gallup / Getty Images

The pallium was woven by the Benedictine nuns of Santa Cecilia in Urbe in Trastevere, Rome. It is made from the wool of two lambs from Trappist monks, who bless the lambs on Jan. 21, during the feast of St. Agnes.

The pallium is fastened with three pins resembling the nails of the cross, and is worn over the shoulders.

A deacon has read St. John the Baptist’s gospel to the thousands in attendance at St. Peter's Square, chanting in Latin.

The same gospel, venerated with incense, will now be chanted in Greek.

Standing before an altar erected outside St Peter's Basilica, Pope Leo XIV prays as the mass begins.

“Brothers and sisters, on this day made by the Lord, we renew the memory of our baptism through the sign of this water,” said Pope Leo XIV, in Latin.

The choir's voices soar and echo through St. Peter's Square.

Leo was met with cheers from the crowd across St. Peter's Square as he emerged from the basilica for the mass.

 Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images

When Ukrainian president Vlodomyr Zelenskyy arrived, many of the bishops stood, as well as many members of the ecumenical delegation on stage right.

Pope Leo XIV, with his cardinals and clergy, walks in procession through the Basilica and into St. Peter’s Square, where tens of thousands are standing in silent prayer as he emerges.

The pallium and Fisherman’s Ring, brought up from the crypt, are carried with them. The procession is shrouded in incense, a symbol of the faithful's prayers rising up to God.

Cardinals emerging from St. Peter's Basilica.  Jacquelyn Martin / AFP - Getty Images

Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass is now underway as he descends to pray at St. Peter's tomb inside the Basilica.

St. Peter's Square today.  Alberto Pizzoli / AFP - Getty Images

JD Vance and his wife Usha could be seen walking into St. Peter's Square about 10 minutes before the mass was due to start at 10 a.m. local time.

Vice President JD Vance and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte arrive for Pope Leo XIV's Inauguration mass. Jacquelyn Martin - Pool / Getty Images

His motorcade arrived at the Vatican along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife, Jeanette Rubio.

Nico Zanarini, 27, converted to Catholicism this year and said he was "buzzing" thinking about seeing the pope.

He came from an earlier mass this morning at St. Augustine Church, straight to St. Peter's Square, saying he "couldn’t miss it," and that it was "God's plan" for him to be here in Rome.

Zanarini said it was surreal the pope is American, and believes Catholicism in America will only grow because of it.

Diplomacy is at the sidelines, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Saturday with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Vatican’s peace envoy, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Rubio thanked the Holy See for its willingness to be involved in the peace process and said the Vatican could be a potential venue for Russia-Ukraine talks, as it’s "certainly a place where I think both sides would be comfortable coming."

Rubio also met with Vatican officials including Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States.

Pope Leo XIV has entered St Peter's Square where thousands of people have gathered to greet him. People are cheering and waving as he weaves his way through the masses.

Women waving U.S. and Canadian flags.  Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images

There are flags from all over the world being held aloft, including, Colombia, Nigeria, Honduras, Venezuela, and his native United States.

Pope Leo XIV also holds Peruvian citizenship, and there are dozens of Peruvian flags in the crowd too.

Pope Leo XIV is standing in the back of his popemobile, smiling and waving to crowds lining the streets as he is driven slowly towards St. Peter's Square.

 Tiziana Fabi / AFP - Getty Images

David Ramos / Getty Images

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in the streets to catch a glimpse of the new pope, with some trying their best to run alongside the vehicle to get a second look.

• Visit to the tomb of St. Peter — Trumpets herald Pope Leo XIV as he enters St. Peter’s Basilica and descends to pray at St. Peter’s tomb. In 2013, this took six minutes.
• Procession — Leo, with cardinals and clergy, walk in procession through the Basilica and into St. Peter's Square. The pallium and fisherman’s ring, brought up from the crypt, are carried with them.
• Imposition of the Pallium — Cardinal Deacon Dominique Mamberti places the white wool pallium on Pope Leo’s shoulders. Once worn by Roman emperors, it now symbolizes pastoral service. Each pope has their own version of the vestment. Pope Benedict chose a pallium that had not been worn for about a millennium. It was embroidered with red crosses signifying the nails used to crucify Jesus Christ.
• Bestowal of the Fisherman’s Ring — Cardinal Dean Giovanni Battista Re places the ring, a symbol of the pope's authority, on Leo’s finger.
• Cardinals pay homage — Six cardinals kiss the pope’s ring in a gesture of obedience.
• Mass — Conducted mostly in Latin, with readings in various languages and the Gospel in Greek, Leo will begin with a blessing, then lead the Penitential Act. Readings and the gospel will be followed by a homily.
• Homily — Leo delivers his homily in Italian, possibly previewing his vision for the church. In 2013, Pope Francis spoke for 15 minutes and touched on values that would become hallmarks of his pontificate. The Sistine Chapel Choir then leads the congregation, and the sign of peace and Communion follow. Mass concludes with the pope’s blessing and the choir leading the Te Deum. St. Peter’s bells will ring as the Mass ends.
• After Mass — Leo will sing the Regina Caeli. In 2014, Pope Francis returned to the Basilica to greet delegations for over an hour.

JD Vance visited the tomb of Pope Francis at the Basilica of St. Mary Major yesterday.

"He was beloved by many Catholics around the world, and I hope you will join me in praying for the repose of his soul," Vance posted on X, alongside photos of the tomb.

Vance briefly met with Pope Francis on Easter, the day before he died.

The eyes of the world are fixed on Vatican City today ahead of the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.

In St. Peter’s Square, thousands of faithful and dignitaries are set to assemble to witness the timeless ceremony. The new Pope will receive the Fisherman’s ring and the pallium, emblems of his religious authority and role as shepherd of the Catholic Church.

The Pontiff is expected to deliver a message centered on peace and unity with world leaders including Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy among the attendees. 

More than 150 international delegations are set to attend the ceremony, including monarchs, presidents and ministers. The largest delegations are being sent by the pope's home countries, Peru and the United States.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are leading the U.S. delegation. Vance, who is Catholic, met briefly with Pope Francis shortly before his death last month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to attend, as well as Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, will attend representing King Charles III.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims and religious leaders are also expected to fill St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican has made the full libretto available. 

The Fisherman’s Ring is a signet ring presented to a new pope at his inauguration, as a symbol of his episcopal authority and as the successor of St. Peter, the fisherman apostle and the first pope, who began his papacy around the year 30.

When Pope Francis died, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, took control of the ring. Traditionally, the ring was ceremonially smashed to symbolize the end of a papacy.

Rev. David Collins, an associate professor and the director of Catholic studies at Georgetown University, said the original purpose of destroying the ring was "to prevent forgery and ensure that nobody used the papal ring to seal a false document,”

Ahead of Leo's inauguration, a new ring will have been struck bearing his name surrounding the image of St. Peter casting a fishing net.

As the first Catholic pope from the United States, Pope Leo XIV has an ancestry that traces back to the Creole and free people of color from Louisiana, illustrating complex and interconnected issues of race and class in American history.

The Creole community emerged in Louisiana due to the blending of cultures there. French, Native American, Spanish, German and descendants of West African countries all cohabitated in the region during the pre-colonial era when France and Spain owned the Louisiana territory.

“His rise is not just a religious milestone, it’s a historical affirmation,” genealogist and former official Louisiana state archivist Alex DaPaul Lee said of the man previously known as Cardinal Robert Prevost.

In terms of how Pope Leo’s family ended up in Illinois, Lee said his family was likely part of the hundreds of other Louisiana Creoles who migrated north during the first wave of the Great Migration in the early 1900s.

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