Pope Leo XIV, first steps as Pontiff: ‘A Church that walks, open to dialogue’.

Celebration in the Sistine Chapel, Sunday the Regina Coeli. The new Pope’s greeting to the crowd and the homage to Francis

Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first mass as pontiff in the Sistine Chapel today, officially starting his ministry with a sign of spiritual and pastoral continuity. On Sunday, at 12 noon, he will lead the Regina Coeli prayer for the first time from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The new Pope, Robert Francis Prevost, was elected yesterday on the fourth ballot, after just two days of Conclave. The white smoke appeared at 6.08pm, followed in less than an hour by the newly elected Pontiff appearing at the Loggia of Blessings. ‘Peace be with all of you dear brothers and sisters,’ he began, quoting the greeting of the Risen Christ. He then expressed gratitude to Pope Francis, who was greeted by a long applause.

In his first speech, Leo XIV outlined a vision of a missionary Church, ‘building bridges and dialogue’, open and close ‘to those who suffer’. He spoke in Italian but also in Spanish, paying homage to Peru where he worked as a missionary for over ten years.

The profile of Pope Leo XIV: a bridge between continents and cultures

Robert Francis Prevost was born on 14 September 1955 in Chicago into a family of Irish origin. He entered the Order of St. Augustine at a very young age, was ordained a priest in 1982 and immediately showed a distinctly missionary vocation. In 1985, he left the United States for Peru, where he worked for over a decade in the Prelature of Chulucanas and then in Trujillo. There he trained generations of seminarians, teaching canon law and playing key roles in religious formation.

Back in the USA, he led the Augustinian Province of Chicago before being elected Prior General of the Augustinian Order in Rome, a position he held for two consecutive terms from 2001 to 2013. This position brought him into contact with ecclesial realities from all over the world, strengthening his international profile.

In January 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, entrusting him with the delicate responsibility of selecting bishops for dioceses around the world. He was created cardinal on 30 September of the same year, a sign of the Argentine Pontiff’s confidence. His pastoral style, sober and direct, combined with his long experience in the Global South and in curial mechanisms, made Prevost a figure of synthesis between reform and tradition, between mission and government.

The meaning of the name Leo XIV: a doctrinal and pastoral legacy

Choosing the name Leo, absent for more than a century in the history of Popes, was not a random gesture. The name directly recalls Leo XIII, the Pope of Rerum Novarum, the great social encyclical that laid the foundations of the Church’s social doctrine. It is a strong reminder of a Church committed to the world, attentive to workers, the poor, human rights and social justice.

But the name also recalls Leo I, called the Great, the Pope who in the 5th century faced external threats to the unity of Christianity with authority and firmness and vigorously affirmed the primacy of the Roman See. A reminder that could indicate Leo XIV’s desire to be a spiritual reference point in times of fragmentation, disorientation and war.

As Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni pointed out, it is ‘a name that evokes the Church’s social doctrine and pastoral responsibility in complex times’. In this sense, Leo XIV seems to want to combine firmness in faith with openness to dialogue, in perfect continuity with the magisterium of Pope Francis.

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(Photo: © AndKronos)