It was not the first Mass Pope Leo XIV ever celebrated, but probably the most significant.
On Sunday, America’s first pontiff celebrated his inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square where he condemned exploiting the poor and called for unity in the church, per CNN.
Thousands of onlookers, royalty and world leaders were on hand as the 267th pope for the historic event.
The pope arrived via the popemobile to the crowd yelling, “Viva il Papa.”
The audience included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
During his homily, the pope said there was no room in the Catholic Church for “religious propaganda” or power plays. He called for unity within the church.
“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, per the Associated Press. “In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.”
The pontiff said he was not chosen to be pope on his own merits, but takes it on as a “brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy.”
“Let us build a church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made restless by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity,” Leo said, the AP reported.
