First mass celebrated by new Pope Leo XIV begins: Vatican
IOL Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost arrives on the main central loggia balcony of the St Peter's Basilica for the first time, after the cardinals ended the conclave, in The Vatican, on May 8, 2025.
Image: AFP
New Pope Leo XIV began celebrating his first mass as head of the Catholic Church on Friday, a private gathering for cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, according to video footage broadcast by the Vatican.
US-born Robert Francis Prevost will deliver his much-anticipated first homily as pontiff.
Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost became on Thursday the 267th pope, spiritual leader to the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, after a secret conclave by his fellow cardinals in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.
At 11:00 am on Friday, the 69-year-old sometimes referred to in Rome as the "Latin Yankee" for his time as a missionary in Peru, will return to the chapel to celebrate a private mass with cardinals that will be broadcast by the Vatican, delivering his much-anticipated first homily as pope.
Tens of thousands of well-wishers cheered Leo as he appeared on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica on Thursday evening -- with many having no idea who the modest man before them was.
The American, who spent two decades in Peru and was only made a cardinal in 2023, had been on many Vatican watchers' lists of potential popes, although he is far from being a globally recognised figure.
Over the coming days, from Friday's mass to Sunday's midday Regina Coeli prayer and a meeting with journalists at the Vatican on Monday, the actions and words of Leo will be closely scrutinised.
AFP