Pope Leo, taking helm of a divided church, urges unity

VATICAN CITY — Leo XIV on Sunday celebrated an outdoor Mass formally inaugurating him as the 267th pope of the Catholic Church, telling world leaders, the assembled hierarchy of his church and more than 100,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square that the church needed a new unity that recognized its diversity.

In his homily, the new pontiff sought to bridge the divisions in the church between those who want to engage with the modern world by pushing ahead with the inclusive approach of Pope Francis, and those more conservative members who favor a return to an emphasis on the church’s traditions.

The cardinals tasked with electing a pope, he said, had sought a “shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world.”

Pope Leo, an American who has Peruvian citizenship, also said in his homily, that “I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother.” He added that he wanted “us all to be united in one family.”

The morning also marked Leo’s first steps into a global role. He met Sunday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, which he said, “awaits negotiations for a fair and lasting peace,” called for peace in Myanmar and urged the world not to forget those “reduced to hunger.”

But the focus of the day was the official beginning of Leo’s ministry in a day filled with ancient and symbolic rituals.

Leo took a spin around St. Peter’s Square as crowds of people chanted his name. He then went into St. Peter’s Basilica and descended to what tradition holds is the tomb of St. Peter to pray. He later emerged on the basilica’s steps to celebrate the Mass.

Framing his mission by echoing Jesus’ role as a “fisher of humanity in order to draw it up from the waters of evil and death,” he returned to the priority of Francis, his predecessor, that the church keep to its evangelizing mission. Still, he said, it “is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power,” but through love.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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