Pope Leo vows not to be an autocrat, receives the ring of office

Sydney Morning Herald

19-05-2025

The informal talks before the Mass gave Prime Minister Anthony Albanese time to speak with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and others.
He met the Pope soon after the Mass, shaking hands briefly along with other leaders within the Vatican.
Albanese was due to meet Zelensky and von der Leyen in separate talks after the Mass, as the ceremony gives way to an informal leadership gathering in Rome.
The Vatican said the Pope would meet with Zelensky the same afternoon.
The pontiff took his first Popemobile ride through St Peter's Square ahead of the Mass, waving from the back of the all-electric, open-back Mercedes truck to the crowd that waved flags and cheered 'Viva il Papa!'
The bells of St Peter's Basilica tolled as Pope Leo waved from the back of the truck, which looped slowly through the square. The crowd cheered, with some waving Peruvian, American and Holy See flags – in recognition that the Pope, born in Chicago, had served as a bishop in Peru for more than two decades.
While the funeral Mass for Pope Francis was a sombre ceremony on April 26, the inauguration of Leo began as a celebration for a new and – by all signs – popular Pope. Worshippers from around the world sang, waved national flags and mingled while they waited for the service to begin.
The Mass filled St Peter's Square, which has a capacity of about 80,000 people, and the crowd spilt into the streets beyond. The Vatican estimated 150,000 gathered for the Mass.
In a homily broadcast around the world, Pope Leo criticised the global economic system and said it 'exploits the Earth's resources and marginalises the poorest'.
He emphasised love as the mission of the church, contrasting this with trying to capture others by force, religious propaganda or power.
He said he would govern 'without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat' and acknowledged the decision by the College of Cardinals to choose him to lead the church.
'I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother,' he said.
Pope Leo, born in Chicago in 1955, became the first North American to be made pontiff when the College of Cardinals elected him on May 8 to succeed Pope Francis, the first South American pontiff.
Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli, in Rome for the inaugural Mass, said the reaction to Leo suggested his first message had resonated with people around the world, including Australians.
'People of all kinds see Pope Leo as a leader of the world – not just for Catholics,' he told this masthead.
One example, he said, was the way Pope Leo spoke of new issues for humanity such as artificial intelligence, confronting ethical questions over the new technology.
Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher, also in Rome, described the Pope as someone who wanted to ease differences between people.
'I think he's a very centred and centrist pope, and I think there's been lots of signs of that already,' he said.
'He's centred on Christ. That's his big message, again and again, about what Christ brings. I think he's not going to be one to provoke storms. He'll be much more one to pour oil on troubled waters.
'In a very divided world, in a polarised culture and politics, he's going to be one for bringing people together. I think you see that in his messages so far, and I think that is very much his personality, too.'
Pope Leo prepared for the Mass by receiving a vestment known as a pallium to signify his elevation to the papacy. Shaped in a white band and woven from wool, the pallium is seen as a symbol of the lamb Jesus carried on his shoulders, and the role of the pope as shepherd of the faithful.
The previous pontiff, Pope Francis, described the pallium as a symbol of those the shepherd looked after.
In one of the most important moments during the Mass, Leo received the Fisherman's ring, signifying the role of St Peter and all later popes as the 'fishers of men' in church tradition.
While Pope Francis departed from custom by choosing a silver ring, the Vatican distributed images of the ring for Pope Leo showing St Peter on a gold background.
Unseen by those in the square, Pope Leo prepared for the Mass by descending to the foundations of St Peter's Basilica to venerate the bones of St Peter, who was put to death by the Romans in AD 68 because of his faith.
Archaeological work at St Peter's Basilica uncovered more of the necropolis beneath the building in the 1950s and 1960s, leading to the discovery of the bones of a man aged in his 60s. Pope Paul VI said in 1968 that these were the remains of St Peter.
There is no coronation for the pope, but there has traditionally been a recognition that he is a head of state, given Vatican City is the world's smallest country.
The last pontiff to be crowned as a king was Pope Paul VI in 1963, who wore the 'triple tiara' to represent the three roles of the pontiff as father of kings, governor of the world and vicar of Christ.
Pope Paul was given the tiara, which featured pierced silver and three gold bands set with precious gems, by the people of Milan. But he set it aside as a symbolic gift to the poor one year after his papacy began. No pope has been crowned since.
The Mass ended with sustained applause across St Peter's Square as Leo XIV returned to the Vatican, confirmed in office with the Fisherman's ring. His next duty was to speak with leaders from an estimated 150 countries, ranging from presidents to princes. One by one, he shook their hands.