Pope Leo XIV has called on the Catholic Church to become a beacon to 'illuminate dark nights' and reach out those who prefer 'technology, money, success, power or pleasure' in his first mass remarks since becoming pontiff.
Leo, formerly known as Robert Prevost, returned to the Sistine Chapel for the first time as pope this morning just hours after he emerged onto the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican to crowds of jubilant worshippers.
Speaking at his first mass, he insisted the church can be an increasingly bright beacon in a troubled world as he addressed his cardinals in English before speaking in Italian.
The first American pope, a 69-year-old Chicago-born Augustinian missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru, was chosen to succeed the late Pope Francis following a two-day papal conclave.
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Watch: Pope Leo leads mass on first full day in the Vatican
Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass on Friday, a day after his historic election as the first North American pope in the Catholic Church's 2,000-year history while congratulations poured in from world leaders and statesmen at the start of his papacy.
In his homily, delivered in fluent Italian, Pope Leo XIV touched on faith, power and corruption. As Cardinal Robert Provost, he had done years of missionary work in Peru and on Friday, as pope, he addressed the significance of that work in keeping the faith alive.
He said there are 'contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied.'
'Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed,' he said.
13:47
Pope Leo to live in Santa Marta guesthouse
by Nick Pisa in the Vatican
Pope Leo XIV will continue to live in the Santa Marta guesthouse while building work continues at the Apostolic Palace, the official papal residence but which his predecessor Pope Francis shunned.
Before he was made Pope Leo he lived in the Palazzo Sant Uffizio where his office was based and he returned here after being made Pope where he posed for selfies with staff.
The guesthouse, also known as Domus Sanctae Marthae, is a 129-room 'hotel' inside the walls of Vatican City that has traditionally been used by the papacy to host visitors.
Its thick-of-the-action location - right next to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City - ensures the cardinals' commute from their suites to the Sistine Chapel is mercifully brief.
The guesthouse, known as Casa Santa Marta in Italian, was also the residence of Pope Francis and the place where he died on Easter Monday at the age of 88.
13:30
The anti-Trump pope? MAGA in meltdown over Leo's attacks on Trump and Vance
MAGA politicos unleashed a barrage of blistering attacks against the new American pope after he overcame startling odds to be selected as pontiff yesterday.
Pope Leo XIV sparked the ire of Right-wing commentators after he was revealed to have taken aim at JD Vance and a number of key Trump policies online.
Having weighed in on issues from gun control to migration and the death of George Floyd in the United States, Prevost was bound to be controversial in MAGA America.
From his posts, the new pontiff is expected to carry on as a counterbalance to Trump, representing 1.4bn Catholics worldwide, including around 53mn in the U.S.
13:14
Pope Leo 'won't be woke'
by Nick Pisa in the Vatican
Pope Leo won't allow 'woke culture' in the Vatican, it has been claimed.
Resected Vatican correspondent for Rome daily Il Messaggero, Andrea Gagliarducci wrote of Pope Leo XIV, in an editorial:
He will not be a Pope of woke culture but he will not be a Pope who will let Trumpism pass in every way and from every direction.
When he was a cardinal, Prevost was considered not very charismatic, almost shy in his approach, This however should not deceive. Sometimes, it is the role that makes the person, and not vice versa.
12:58
Watch: Resurfaced video shows Pope Leo singing Feliz Navidad
by Nick Pisa in the Vatican
Footage of new Pope Leo singing the hit Spanish Christmas carol Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano has emerged on social media.
The clip, which was taken more than 10 years ago, was posted by a former student in Chiclayo and shows him holding a microphone and dressed in a black suit and dog collar.
He is heard singing in Spanish and English and clapping his hands as other students join in the singing which ends with wild applause.
The poster wrote: 'At our Christmas meeting in 2014, they introduced us to Monsignor Roberto. We were enchanted by his simplicity.
'We never imagined that we were meeting the new Pope. The boys of #Josif #Chiclayo will always remember him. God bless him.'
Feliz Navidad featured in the Gavin and Stacey 2019 Christmas special
12:47
'It's becoming surreal to be honest': Author reacts to Pope Leo watching Conclave film
Speaking on LBC author Robert Harris reacted to the news that Pope Leo XIV had watched Conclave.
He said:
This is getting more and more ridiculous. There was a report during the week that several cardinals had watched the movie because they had bever been in a conclave and didn’t know how it was going to operate.
And the film, following the novel tries faithfully to recreate the process, its doubly amusing that the man who has just got the job watched the film and maybe took a few clues from Ralph Fiennes performance. It’s becoming surreal to be honest.
Speaking about the man himself, Mr Harris said he believed Pope Leo is 'quite shrewd' as he praised the conclave process that led to his election.
He added:
If only our own political parties elected their leaders in this way we might have had better Prime Minsters and leaders of the opposition over the last few years. So yeah, I think they probably have got the right guy everything I have heard about him so far, not least his taste in movies, suggest they absolutely have got the right guy.
12:33
The new Pope's bling: Jewellery, properties and pope-mobile
Pope Leo XIV will soon be bestowed with the priceless regalia and vast estate that comes with the papacy, including gold jewellery, a bullet-proof popemobile and opulent Papal apartments.
Former bishop Robert Francis Prevost's new life at the Vatican will be a far cry from his upbringing in a suburban town in Illinois, as well as his time working as a missionary with impoverished farmers in rural Peru.
The first American Pope is set to be inaugurated during a grandiose mass next week, during which he will receive the pallium, an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic church.
The first American Pope is set to be inaugurated during a grandiose mass next week, during which he will receive the pallium, an ecclesiastical vestment, and the Fisherman's ring.
12:19
Comparing Leo and Francis at the start of their papacies
by Nick Pisa in the Vatican city
Pope Leo XIV started his papacy very differently from his predecessor Pope Francis.
Standing on the balcony of St Peter’s, he wore a gold cross, gold Fisherman’s ring, embodied stole around his neck and a pink mozzetta or tunic.
Pope Francis had avoided the last two as the thought them to ‘flashy’ and his ring was made of silver.
However in a nod to Pope Francis, the new pontiff was seen wearing black shoes under his vestments as he gave his first mass at the Sistine Chapel on Friday.
Meanwhile the Vatican has also announced that Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass will be on Sunday May 18 in St Peter's Square.
Dignitaries from all over the world are expected to attend - with some suggestion even President Trump could return to Rome.
For Pope Francis inauguration in 2013 Britain was represented by then Minister of State for Faith and Communities Braoness Warsi but the post is now held by Lord Khan of Burnley.
12:02
Pope Leo to be formally installed on May 18
The Vatican says Pope Leo XIV will be formally installed as pope at a Mass on Sunday next week and will preside over his first general audience on Wednesday, May 21.
The Vatican has released a schedule of Leo's upcoming agenda.
It includes meetings with cardinals, Vatican officials, the media, diplomatic corps and the general public.
The Vatican also said that Leo had asked all heads of Vatican offices, who technically lost their jobs with the death of Pope Francis, to return to work until further notice.
It said he wanted to take time for 'reflection, prayer and dialogue' before taking any further decisions on confirming them definitively.
11:49
Tourists to sample Pope Leo ice cream from next week
by Nick Pisa in the Vatican
An ice cream maker has promised to make a Pope Leo XIV flavour ice cream.
Massimiliano Del Monte, who owns the Del Monte ice cream parlour just a flake’s throw from the Vatican, has also previously made a Pope Francis treat.
He said:
We are already studying what ingredients to put in and we hope to have it ready for next week. It will be called Leonem.
We will probably have peanuts in it as a nod to the Pope’s American background. Hopefully it will do as well as the Franciscus ice cream, that’s a cream with five cereals and a little bit of chocolate.
11:36
White Sox or Cubs? Where does the Pope's baseball allegiance in Chicago lie
One question consuming Chicago baseball fans following Pope Leo's election was...which team does he support?
The Windy City is notoriously split between White Sox and Cubs supporters, a rivalry between the South and North sides.
Father Gregory Sakowicz, rector of Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral, said one burning question was whether the pontiff was a fellow fan of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, as he grew up near the team's stadium on the city's South Side, or of their crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cubs.
'I heard he's a Cubs fan,' he said. 'Well, God Bless him.'
The Cubs themselves claimed Leo as one of their own, posting on their X account congratulations and a photo of the iconic Wrigley Field sign with the words: 'Hey, Chicago. He's a Cubs fan!'
But the Sox scored a home run when Pope Leo's brother John Prevost told local broadcaster WGN: 'He was always a Sox fan.'
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Pope Leo XIV calls for church to 'illuminate dark nights' in first mass remarks as world celebrates election of first American pontiff in the Vatican
