Latest news with #papalceremony
ABC News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Pope Leo XIV declares 'I am Roman' as he formally becomes bishop of Rome
Pope Leo XIV has declared himself a Roman as he completed the final ceremonial steps cementing his role as the bishop of Rome. The first American pope formally took possession of the Saint John Lateran Basilica, which is Rome's cathedral and seat of the diocese, with an evening mass attended by Roman priests and faithful on Sunday. He then took the Popemobile for a visit to Saint Mary Major, where he prayed before Pope Francis's tomb and an icon of the Virgin Mary, beloved to many Roman faithful. The trip completed the symbolic and liturgical "taking possession" of the four basilicas that signify full papal authority within Rome. In his homily, Leo said he wanted to listen to them "in order to learn, understand and decide things together". One of the many titles that Leo assumed when he was elected May 8 was bishop of Rome. Given the responsibilities running the 1.4 billion-strong universal Catholic Church, popes delegate the day-to-day governance of running the diocese of Rome to a vicar. Sunday's ceremonies at Saint John Lateran and a stop at Saint Mary Major basilicas follow Leo's visit last week to the Saint Paul Outside the Walls basilica. Together with Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the four papal basilicas are the most important basilicas in the West. Rome's Mayor Roberto Gualtieri welcomed Leo first at the steps to City Hall, noting that his May 8 election fell during a Holy Year, an event occurring every 25 years to invite pilgrims to Rome. The city underwent two years of traffic-clogging public works projects to prepare and expects to welcome upward of 30 million people in 2025. Leo said he felt the "serious but passionate responsibility" to serve all Romans during the Holy Year and beyond. Wearing his formal red papal cape and brocaded stole, Leo recalled the words he had uttered from the loggia of Saint Peter's Basilica on the night of his election. The Augustinian pope quoted Saint Augustine in saying: "With you I am Christian, and for you, bishop." "By special title, today I can say that for you and with you I am Roman," Leo said. The former Robert Prevost succeeded Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope. Francis died on April 21 and is buried at Saint Mary Major, near the icon of the Madonna known as the Salus Populi Romani.
Washington Post
25-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Pope Leo XIV declares 'I am Roman!' as he completes formalities to become bishop of Rome
ROME — Pope Leo XIV declared himself a Roman on Sunday as he completed the final ceremonial steps cementing his role as the bishop of Rome. The first American pope was formally taking possession of two papal basilicas in the Eternal City , a formality that serves to ceremonially introduce Leo to his Roman flock.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The Mysterious Ring That Will Make This American Cardinal a Pope
Jewelry's role in the rituals of power are well documented if still underestimated. During the recent coronation of the King of England, it was jewelry, as it has always been, that sealed the deal: St. Edward's Crown during the crowning ceremony, the Imperial State Crown for the end of the service, The Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross symbolizing his temporal power, the Sovereign's Orb representing the Cristian world, and the coronation ring, sapphire with a ruby cross set in diamonds, placed on the monarch's right hand by the Bishop of Canterbury, and a kind of 'wedding ring of England' and serves as a symbol of his love and commitment to the Commonwealth. On May 18th, at the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV, formerly American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a ring will also play a pivotal role in the ceremony. The service, if it follows tradition, will begin in St. Peter's tomb before a procession into St. Peter's Square. Inside, deacons will gather the pallium an ecclesiastical vestment, and the Fisherman's Ring. The hand carved ring, is typically made of solid gold with an estimated value of almost $600,000 is created anew for each Pope. Its central motif is in honor of St. Peter, considered the first Pope, and also a fisherman. It is part of the papal jewelry ritual that has sustained, long after the papal tiara was left behind (the last official Papal crown is from 1963). The ring has its roots in an official capacity: As an official papal seal, which is also why when a Pope dies, the ring has always been destroyed immediately, to avoid impersonation. The ring is present in every papal inauguration though each Pope has tailored it to reflect his own approach. Pope Francis, for example, is said to have chosen to recycle a ring rather than create an entirely new one—identifying marks were erased—and to have chosen a gold plated silver ring rather than one in pure precious metal. In images he can often be seen wearing another ring, a rather simple silver cross. The choices Pope Leo XIV makes about his own Fisherman's Ring—solid gold? New or recycled? Italian carver?—will likely not be revealed, but he has already deviated from some of the choices made by Pope Francis regarding the Papal regalia. For his first public appearance from the Loggia of St. Peter, he wore the full papal vestments: the mozzetta, a short red cape; the rochet, a lace-trimmed garment worn over the traditional white cassock; and a gold pectoral cross. Pope Francis only wore the white cassock. Is this a sign that Pope Leo's ring will follow a more traditional and elaborate model? The world will certainly be looking for signs. You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
New York Times
18-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
Until 60 Years Ago, New Popes Were Crowned
In the book 'A Reporter at the Papal Court,' published in 1937, Thomas B. Morgan, then the head of The United Press bureau in Rome wrote that Pope Pius XI's inauguration ceremony in 1922 had been 'more dazzling and colorful' that the coronation of the king of England. One wow factor would have been the moment of the coronation of the pope. From the 12th century until Paul VI stopped using a papal crown in 1964, the installation Mass included a solemn moment when the pontiff was crowned with an elaborate gold and jewel-encrusted tiara. The pope would not wear the tiara during liturgical ceremonies 'but only when entering and exiting certain solemn ceremonies,' said Rev. Stefano Sanchirico, co-author of a book on papal rituals. Paul VI stopped using the tiara and chose to wear a miter instead, as his successors have done. The papal tiara ended up in the United States, where it is now in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. In his homily during his inauguration Mass on Oct. 22, 1978, Pope John Paul II noted that popes had been crowned in the past, but said the focus should be elsewhere. 'This is not the time to return to a ceremony and an object considered, wrongly, to be a symbol of the temporal power of the Popes,' he said. Archival footage offers a glimpse of the grandeur of the ceremony. A 1939 film that includes the coronation of Pope Pius XII shows crowds roaring in St. Peter's Square, as he was carried on an elevated throne through the atrium of the basilica. The pope then moved to a balcony and was crowned. A film of the coronation of Pope John XXIII in 1958 shows him being crowned, with the narrator proclaiming him: 'The vicar of Christ on earth.' Doing away with the crown was not the only way in which Paul VI looked to open the church to the modern world: He also moved the ceremony outside to the area in front of the basilica, where was carried through the crowd on a raised throne by sediari, a lay brotherhood that still has a role in the Vatican — they were the pallbearers who carried Pope Francis' coffin.
