Pope Leo XIV, denounces marginalisation and exploitation of the human person; vows to work for unity..
Ten days after his election as head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV has celebrated the inaugural Mass of his pontificate this Sunday May 18th 2025 at the Vatican, denouncing marginalisation and exploitation of man by man.
It was in the presence of tens of thousands of Roman catholic faithfuls and foreign dignitories including US Vice President J.D. Vance, US secretary of state Marco Rubio, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, as well as Prime Minister Bart De Wever. Felipe VI and Letizia of Spain, and Prince Edward of Edinburgh.
Also in attendance were Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and their Peruvian counterpart, Dina Boluarte. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French Prime Ministerh François Bayrou, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also be in St. Peter’s Square
This solemn Mass, rich in rituals and symbols, which will began at 10:00 a.m. at St. Peter’s Square in Rome and surrounded by heavy security, marked the official beginning of the pontificate of the first American pope in the two-thousand-year history of the Catholic Church.
The election of Leo XIV, a native of Chicago, sparked great enthusiasm in the United States, even though he had opposed the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policy, particularly regarding his X account, which has since been deleted.
During his first week as Pope, Leo XIV used his audiences to issue his first appeals, from the release of imprisoned journalists to offering mediation to warring parties around the world.
Before the diplomatic corps on Friday, he emphasized his social commitment and called for a fight against “global inequalities” and “undignified working conditions,” in the footsteps of Leo XIII (1878-1903), architect of the Church’s social doctrine.
After todays ceremony, the Pope will greet the delegations of heads of state one after another inside the world’s largest church.
