Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass as Roman Pontiff in the Sistine Chapel with the College of Cardinals.
The service was conducted in multiple languages, including a reading from the First Epistle of St. Peter in Spanish, the language of Peru, where Cardinal Robert Prevost spent a decade before becoming Pope Leo XIV.
Pope Leo XIV began his homily in his native English, inviting the congregation of cardinals to “recognize the marvels that the Lord has done.”
Speaking in Italian, Pope Leo XIV continued with a quote from Peter, the first Catholic saint, in the Book of Matthew “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV said the Catholic Church must press ahead with its “missionary outreach” in the far corners of the globe, a call reminiscent of the priorities of his predecessor, Pope Francis.
“These 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,” the pope said.
“A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society,” he stated.
Pope Leo XIV was elected as the 267th Pope after five rounds of voting; election is notable not only for his American origins but also for his extensive missionary work in Peru, where he served as a bishop and became a citizen.
