Pope Leo XIV formally began his ministry as head of the 1.4 billion members of the universal Catholic Church with a Mass in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Vatican City, May 18, 2025 / 06:58 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday formally began his ministry as head of the 1.4 billion members of the universal Catholic Church, acknowledging divisions among the faithful with a call for fraternal communion and unity at his inaugural Mass.
Addressing an estimated 150,000 people crowded into St. Peter’s Square and the surrounding streets, the 69-year-old pope, elected May 8, said, “I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.”
