Vatican sets May 18, 2025 for Pope Leo XIV inauguration mass
Pope Leo XIV will officially inaugurate his papacy with Mass in St. Peter’s Square May 18.
Robert Francis Prevost, 69, has become the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter and he will be known as Leo XIV.
He is the first American to fill the role of pope, although he is considered as much a cardinal from Latin America because of the many years he spent as a missionary in Peru.
Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Leo served as an altar boy and was ordained in 1982.
Although he moved to Peru three years later, he returned regularly to the US to serve as a priest and a prior in his home city.
He has Peruvian nationality and is fondly remembered as a figure who worked with marginalised communities and helped build bridges.
He spent 10 years as a local parish pastor and as a teacher at a seminary in Trujillo in north-western Peru.
Although he was pope from the moment he accepted his election May 8, 2025 the inauguration Mass which replaced the papal coronation after the pontificate of St. Paul VI ormally marks the beginning of his ministry with his reception of the fisherman’s ring and his pallium, a wool band worn around his shoulders.
The Vatican announced the date for the Mass May 9, 2025 along with events on his schedule for the rest of the month.
In a separate statement, the Vatican said the new Pope has asked the heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia and the offices of Vatican City State to continue in their posts “on a provisional basis.”
When Pope Francis died April 21, and when any pope dies, most of the top Vatican officials lose their positions, giving the new pope a chance to appoint his team.
Those reappointed included two women who were the first appointed to their posts and who succeeded cardinals: Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Raffaella Petrini, who is president of the office governing Vatican City State; and Consolata Missionary Sister Simona Brambilla, prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
In reappointing the officials temporarily, the Vatican said, “the Holy Father wishes to set aside some time for reflection, prayer and dialogue before any final appointment or confirmation is made.”
