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Sky News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Pope Leo's inauguration to draw huge crowds - and reveal clues about the papacy to come
Around quarter of a million people are expected to pack into St Peter's Square in Vatican City on Sunday to watch the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV. The event marks the start of the Pope's term. During the ceremony, the new pontiff is given the pallium and the fisherman's ring as symbols of his new authority. However, every pope is free to slightly tweak the ceremony to make it more personal. Vatican watchers say these small details can give us clues about the man chosen to lead 1.4 billion Catholics. For example, Pope Francis used an open-top jeep during his procession in 2013. Here he made a conscious choice to abandon the bulletproof casing often favoured by his predecessor and get closer to the crowd. His decision to stop the car so he could get down to greet babies and the sick was a glimpse of the characteristics which led many to later label him "the pope of the people". "That's not [Leo's] personality," says Father Francesco Giordano, a professor of theology at the Catholic University of America in Rome. "Francis was more out there, Leo is more shy and reserved." Father Giordano describes the new pontiff as "warm, attentive and a good listener". He sees him as a blend of the previous popes, with charisma and emotional expressiveness like John Paul II, intellectual depth like Benedict XVI, and a focus on social issues like Francis. Some of Pope Leo's decisions in the last week seem to reinforce this idea. When he was elected, he echoed Benedict in wearing the traditional red mozzetta - a short elbow-length cape - and moving into the Apostolic Palace, but he followed Francis in wearing his own black shoes rather than the traditional red slippers. In doing the former, he returned to some of the traditions Francis broke with. During his first speech on the balcony, Pope Leo talked about building bridges and Father Giordano believes he's the perfect candidate to unite the church, as some conservatives who felt alienated by Francis will be reassured by the return to some of the traditional customs. Sunday's inauguration mass is also significant as the pope will give a homily - offering further clues as to the type of man he is. This is the moment where Leo will outline his concerns for the future and how he will shape the role going forwards, according to Vatican journalist Marco Griego. "This will be the first manifesto of the papacy where we will see the lines he will draw in the future; the themes - both religious and social," he explains. 2:23 Global conflict is one of the issues which may be touched upon. In multiple statements since his election, Leo has raised concerns about the various wars being fought around the world. In fact, "peace" was the first word he spoke to the public when he greeted them from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica after being elected last Thursday. War has also been a hot topic in his social media posts. "War is never inevitable," he told his 18.6 million followers on X on Wednesday. "Weapons can and must fall silent, for they never solve problems but only intensify them. "Those who sow peace will endure throughout history, not those who reap victims. Others are not enemies to hate but human beings with whom to speak." On the same day he offered "to help enemies meet", and while a peace summit isn't going to be hosted on the sidelines of the inauguration, it will bring together hundreds of high-powered delegates from around the world including US vice president JD Vance, US secretary of state Marco Rubio, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The astonishing picture of presidents Zelenskyy and Trump talking at Francis's funeral shows how these solemn religious ceremonies are also huge global events where leaders meet on neutral ground. "From a geopolitical perspective, being there is a display of power for the political leaders," says Marco Griego. "Also, it's a chance to make links or hold informal discussions, so it's also a very important diplomatic meeting." It's an opportunity some seem keen to make the most of. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's team confirmed he will be at the mass and said while in Rome, he's hoping to meet other international leaders to discuss deepening trade, commerce, and cultural ties. And as part of the inauguration event, pontiffs usually meet various delegations. Vatican secretary of state Pietro Parolin told journalists a face-to-face meeting between the Pope and the US vice president on the sidelines of Leo's inauguration on Sunday is a possibility - while stressing "the problem is that there are so many delegations, the timing is very tight and so it will be a matter of seeing if there is space". In 2013, Francis spent around an hour speaking to leaders after the mass and once again, Vatican watchers will be carefully analysing the interactions. Before he became Pope Leo XIV, the then Cardinal Robert Prevost reposted articles which criticised Mr Vance and Mr Trump's stance on immigration. 1:01 In 2023, following violent anti-government protests in Peru that resulted in 49 deaths, he expressed "much sorrow and much pain" to Peruvian media. He also urged Peru's then president Alberto Fujimori to "personally ask forgiveness for the great injustices that were committed and for which he was prosecuted" in a 2017 public statement. However, Pope Leo's supporters say he is a natural diplomat, who is considered and clear when he speaks - and will avoid any public fallout on such an important day. Instead, Sunday's inauguration is a chance for Pope Leo to set his agenda and build his relationships with both the public and those in power.
Sky News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Pope Leo a 'very accessible' man who faces 'big challenge'
Pope Leo XIV is a "gentle man" who is "very accessible", a priest who has met him told Sky News. Pope Leo, an American missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru, was elected the first US pontiff in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church. He emerged as the 267th pope just over an hour after white smoke poured out of the chimney above the Sistine Chapel in Rome on Thursday afternoon, where the conclave had been gathering since Wednesday to elect a successor to Francis. Pope Leo went by the name of Cardinal Robert Prevost prior to becoming the leader of the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church. 'What you see is what you get' Asked on Sky News what the 69-year-old Pope was like, Father Francesco Giordano, who met the pontiff and is a professor of theology and a diocesan priest, said: "What you see is what you get." Father Giordano said Pope Leo is "a very gentle man, calm, collected, thoughtful" and, describing how he first met the pontiff at the North American College last year, he said Leo seemed "very accessible". 0:43 'A big challenge' Sky events commentator Alastair Bruce said Pope Leo showed "great elegance and charm" as he appeared on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica to greet the crowds for the first time. Noting how he wasn't one of the favourites to succeed Francis, who died last month aged 88, Bruce said: "Here Pope Leo the XIV has come from a surprising part of the world… the USA… and he has as big a challenge as any human being might have and what's more the loneliness of the papacy is his until the last heartbeat of his life." 'A man who grew up among protestants' Charles Collins, managing editor at Crux Now, an online news outlet focused on the Vatican and the Catholic Church, said he was "really surprised" by Pope Leo's election. "This is a man who not only grew up amongst protestants but American protestants, where you don't have one major protestant party, you have lots and lots of different types of protestants... "So he will be very familiar with that aspect of ecumenical relations," Mr Collins said, adding "that's very important". Mr Collins said: "He is a very good administrator and he has run a diocese, he has run a religious order and he has played a very significant role running one of the most major offices at the Vatican and frankly he is the first pope in living memory that's had that role, that's been able to do all of those things and I am looking forward to see what he does." Who is the new pope? On a more basic level, Mr Collins said, the fact Leo is an American means he will get better access to "really wealthy American Catholics" who could help solve the "financial crisis that's been hitting the Vatican". Pope looked 'almost overwhelmed' on balcony Sister Liz Dodd, part of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace, told Sky News Pope Leo reminded her of Francis for how he looked "almost a bit overwhelmed, moved, particularly moved by the crowd" in St Peter's Square, where thousands gathered to see his unveiling. 1:20 "You want a pope who knows he is part of the people of God… and much like with pope Francis it felt like he was lifted by that, he wasn't different or other to that, he was part of that community in the square which is encouraging I think at this point to see." Asked about the challenges he may face going forward, Sister Dodd said it was "fascinating to have an American pope at a moment like this, there's a lot of politics going on within the US Catholic Bishops Conference that I think he will be expected to have a say in". She also pointed to a "legacy of abuse [which] still haunts the church" while also saying she hopes Pope Leo will continue Francis's work to "advance the position and the leadership of women in the church". "I don't know that he is one of the cardinals that I would've thought had that as a major priority, but he is a bridge builder and he is a listener, he's got a great missionary experience so fingers crossed."
