Cardinal Robert Prevost, a former missionary and teacher, was chosen by cardinals in a secretive conclave this month that lasted barely 24 hours.
The first American pope, his papacy begins at a time of crisis of U.S. leadership, as the Trump administration seeks to roll back Washington’s centrality in multinational organizations.
In his first week in the job, Leo has signaled that he intends to put peace at the center of his pontificate, saying that “it is the peacemakers that make history.” His first words in St. Peter’s Square on the night of his election were “Peace be with you all” and he has offered the Vatican as a mediator in global conflicts, saying war is “never inevitable.”
On Sunday, he arrived an hour before the ceremony started to tour the piazza on his open-topped popemobile. Flanked by 12 security guards, with helicopters buzzing overhead and sharpshooters on the terraces overlooking the square, he greeted crowds in and around St. Peter’s, waving at well-wishers and lifting babies into the air for a blessing.
In his homily, Leo outlined his priorities, calling for “a reconciled world in a time when “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 called on Christians to unite with other religions and “all people of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns.”
As part of the ceremony, Leo was greeted by cardinals vowing loyalty to him and kissing his hand. And he received two items: a liturgical vestment known as a pallium, a strip of lambswool that represents his role as a shepherd, and a fisherman’s ring with a design of St. Peter holding the keys to heaven.
