Newly elected Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass as pontiff on Friday in the Sistine Chapel.
Leo spoke to the cardinals who elected him to lead the Catholic Church and follow in Pope Francis’ social justice-minded footsteps.
He acknowledged the great responsibility they had placed on him before delivering a brief but dense homily on the need to joyfully spread Christianity.
Speaking in near-perfect Italian, Leo lamented that the Christian faith in many parts of the world is “considered absurd.”
The cardinals applauded as the Mass concluded.
Since arriving in Rome, Prevost had kept a low public profile but was well-known to the men who count, and respected by those who worked with him.
Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms the late Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the Pope.
The last pope to take the name Leo was Leo XIII, an Italian who led the church from 1878 to 1903.
Vatican watchers said Prevost’s decision to name himself Leo was particularly significant given the previous Leo’s legacy of social justice and reform, suggesting continuity with some of Francis’ chief concerns.
On Sunday, he is to deliver his first noon blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s and attend an audience with the media on Monday in the Vatican auditorium, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.
