Pope Leo XIV promised to resist the “temptation to be an autocrat” and not to rule by “religious propaganda” as he was officially inaugurated at the Vatican.
Around 200,000 people gathered alongside cardinals and world leaders in St Peter’s Square on Sunday to witness the pope’s inaugural mass.
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Pontificating across the piazza in Vatican City, the Pope declared that “we still see too much discord” and “too many wounds” as a result of “hatred, violence, prejudice”, as well an “economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest”.
He paid tribute to his predecessors Pope Francis, who died on 21 April, and Pope Leo XIII, who was head of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 1903.
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The American pontiff, 69, said the authority of the Catholic Church should never be a “question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda, or by means of power”.
Instead, he said he would seek to govern the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics “without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat”.
“I would like that our first great desire be for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world,” he said during his homily.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among the queue of world leaders invited to shake hands with the Pope after his inaugural address.
The pair were due to have another meeting in private on Sunday afternoon, the Vatican announced towards the end of the ceremony.
Mr Zelenskyy was seen shaking hands with US Vice President JD Vance as they took their seats before the proceedings got under way – after their dramatic clash at the White House in February.
The UK was represented by Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte was also given a front-row seat, with Pope Leo a joint US-Peruvian citizen.
The pontiff first prayed at the tomb of St Peter, considered to be the first pope, under the basillca’s main altar.
He was then presented with the two most important symbols of the papacy – the lambswool stole, also known as the pallium, and the fisherman’s ring.
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The pallium was draped across his shoulders and symbolises the pastor carrying his flock as the pope carries the faithful.
The ring, which is now the pope’s official seal, is a nod to Jesus’s call to Peter the apostle to cast his fishing net.
Leo began the day by riding through adoring crowds on his “popemobile”.
There were cries of “Viva Il Papa” – meaning “long live the pope” – as US and Peruvian flags were waved.
The Pope stopped to lift a baby passed to him by his family – and placed his hand on the head of another.
Vatican City authorities were expecting 250,000 people, with big screens erected at various points to allow worshippers to watch the proceedings.
