Pope Leo XIV offers message of unity for polarized Catholic Church as pontificate officially starts

VATICAN CITY AP 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 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 mediatic draw The -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 specific 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 the -billion strong church had just sunk in He turned his hand to look at the ring and then clasped his hands in front of him in prayer U S Vice President JD Vance one of the last foreign representatives to see Pope Francis before he died led the American delegation honoring the Chicago-born Leo Vance paid his respects at Francis tomb after arriving in Rome late Saturday The theme of Leo s papacy In his homily Leo explained that he requested 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 stated In this our time we still see too much discord too a great number of wounds caused by hatred violence prejudice the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth s materials and marginalizes the poorest His words echoed various of Francis key priorities but his call for unity was notable given the polarization in the Catholic Church in the United States and beyond Francis radical -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 vote on May after a remarkably quick -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 papacy s formal red cape or mozzetta to receive Vance and official governing body delegations after the Mass Francis had eschewed countless 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 breathed a sigh of relief when he came out onto the the loggia wearing the red cape on May But Leo did break protocol when he gave his older brother Louis Prevost a self-described political MAGA-type 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 explained Tight prevention and protocol Strict diplomatic protocol dictated the seating arrangements at the inaugural Mass with both the U S 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 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 Peruvian President Dina Boluarte was one of around a dozen heads of state who attended as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Russia had planned to send its civilization minister but was represented by its ambassador reports explained Diplomatic protocol also dictated the dress code While greater part wore black a handful of Catholic royals Queen Letizia of Spain and Princess Charlene of Monaco among others wore white in a special privilege allowed them Three dozen of the world s other Christian churches sent representatives the Jewish neighborhood had a -member delegation half of them rabbis Other representatives headed Buddhist Muslim Zoroastrian Hindu Sikh and Jain delegations Measure was tight as it was for Francis funeral on April which drew an estimated people The Vatican revealed that 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 older people who are reduced to starvation he reported Leo made no mention of hostages taken by Hamas from southern Israel on Oct as Francis usually did when praying for Gaza Zelenskyy 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 Zelenskyy mentioned that he stressed the need for a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as feasible and for diplomatic pressure on Russia until they are eager to stop the war Americans are rejoicing Susan Hanssen a professor who was born in Chicago and just arrived in Rome to teach disclosed that she thought Leo s homily about unity would resonate in the U S and beyond I think he will inspire she mentioned after the Mass What I particularly loved was the phrasing unity within the doctrine of the faith and then in love U S seminarian Ethan Menning from Omaha Nebraska wrapped himself in an American flag purchased at a truck stop in Iowa to celebrate Rome inevitably 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 announced 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 Gregory and Susan Hudak who lived for years in the Chicago area determined themselves in Rome after booking a trip in February with just a faint hope of perhaps glimpsing the pope Seeing the popemobile pass by in front of them with Leo on board was even better than watching Michael Jordan play reported Gary Hudak a former altar boy wearing a Chicago Bears hat Originally the only hope I had coming here was to see the inside of the Sistine Chapel he reported Seeing the pope was not scheduled it was a long-shot hope And this was a treasure simple as that