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    Pope Leo XIV Calls for End to War in First Sunday Blessing as Pontiff

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    The new pope echoed themes that Francis, his predecessor, regularly addressed, as he appeared in front of thousands of the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.Pope Leo XIV on Sunday returned to the balcony where he was presented to the world as the new leader of the Roman Catholic church just days ago, using his first Sunday address to the faithful to call for peace.“Never again war,” he said to a roar from the massive crowd that had gathered in St. Peter’s Square, an appeal he addressed to the world’s most powerful leaders. He noted that it was almost 80 years to the day that the “immense tragedy” of World War II ended and quoted Pope Francis, his predecessor, who often referred to the current wave of violence globally as “a third world war in pieces.”Leo called for an “authentic, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine and the freeing of all prisoners in that war. The pope said that children should be returned to their families. Although he did not specify which children he was referring to, many Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia during the war against their family’s wishes.Leo also made a plea for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and for humanitarian aid to be allowed to be distributed “to the exhausted civilian population” in the territory, as well as the return of the hostages taken in Hamas’ assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.Leo’s calls for peace in Ukraine and a cease-fire in Gaza echoed themes that Francis spoke about regularly in his Sunday addresses.Thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square to hear Pope Leo’s first Sunday address as pontiff.Marko Djurica/ReutersHe sent a special greeting to “all mothers” as families celebrated Mother’s Day in Italy, the United States and some other countries.Sunday also marked the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, he noted. Leo said he prayed along with the faithful that more Catholics take up vocations to the priesthood and religious orders. “The Church has such a great need for them!” he said. The number of people joining the priesthood and religious orders has been declining in many countries.Candice Dias from California, was in the square to hear the pope deliver his first traditional Sunday blessing at noon local time. “He seems to be very down to earth,” she said. “He’s humble.”Leo has been busy since he became pope. On Friday, he celebrated his first Mass in the Sistine Chapel as pontiff with the cardinals who had elected him the previous day. In his homily, he pledged to align himself with “ordinary people” and not with the rich and powerful. The pope met with the cardinals again on Saturday, saying he would continue the work of Francis in steering the church in a more missionary direction, greater cooperation among church leaders and a closeness to marginalized people.Ms. Dias added that now that the conclave that elected him pope was over, she hoped her tour of the Vatican, scheduled for Monday, would include the Sistine Chapel. The chapel had been closed to the public even before the conclave began to prepare it for the vote but is set to reopen on Monday. More

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      What Does Pope Leo XIV Do Now? Here’s a Look at His Upcoming Schedule.

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      Here’s a look at his schedule over the next few days.The highly choreographed and secretive process of electing a pope technically came to an end when Pope Leo XIV was introduced on Thursday.But the oath of secrecy is frequently, and unofficially, kept for just a bit longer, according to Joelle Rollo-Koster, a professor of history at the University of Rhode Island.“We can only imagine — with an educated imagination” exactly what happens when the pope returns to the halls of St. Peter’s Basilica, Dr. Rollo-Koster said.Indeed, the next few days in the pope’s life will be a mix of private decisions and public presentations.The Vatican said that Pope Leo XIV will celebrate Mass on Friday at the Sistine Chapel with the cardinals who voted for him. On Sunday, he will recite the Regina Coeli at St. Peter’s Basilica.The end of the conclave does not mean the end of politicking. In addition to sharing congratulations, cardinals who elected the pope may more explicitly share why they voted for him, and what kind of leadership they want to see as a result.On Monday, he is scheduled to meet with journalists at the Vatican for the first time as pope.Pope Leo XIV must also soon decide where he wants to live. While most popes choose to live in the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis chose to live in the Vatican guesthouse. The Vatican shared Pope Francis’s choice of residence about two weeks after he was elected. More

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      Cardinals Begin Conclave With an Oath

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      The cardinals at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City vow to follow the rules of the conclave, the process by which the next pope is chosen.Inside the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals are taking an oath following the instructions of Pope John Paul II, in a document governing papal conclaves that he issued in 1996.The most senior cardinal reads an oath in Latin and the 133 cardinals will read along, promising to follow the prescribed rules. They also pledge that whoever is chosen as the next pope will “commit himself faithfully” to carrying out the mission of St. Peter, the first pontiff, “and will not fail to affirm and defend strenuously the spiritual and temporal rights and the liberty of the Holy See.”The cardinals also vow that the proceedings — including the voting — will remain secret, unless the new pope says that they can break that vow. Any notes taken during the conclave are supposed to be burned with the paper ballots, which are incinerated up to twice a day.That said, accounts of the secretive deliberations have sometimes trickled out after the election, and some Vaticanisti, as the Vatican press corps is known, have puzzled together about how some choices may have been made. There have also been cases of “secret diaries” by anonymous cardinals that later became public, as in the case of one recounting the election of Benedict XVI in 2005.The cardinals also pledge not to be swayed by external influences.Each cardinal then takes an oath in Latin, placing his hand on the Bible and says, “And I,” stating his name, “do so promise, pledge and swear. So help me God and these Holy Gospels which I touch with my hand.”Once the last cardinal has taken the oath, Diego Ravelli, the master of papal liturgical celebrations will give the order, “extra omnes,” Latin for “everybody out.” He is one of the few people who gets to stay inside the chapel during the conclave, but not while votes are counted. More

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      ‘The Two Popes,’ ‘Conclave’ and Francis’ Autobiography: The Papacy in Recent Culture

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      Catholicism, for better or worse, has produced some of the greatest art in human history: Soaring cathedrals, stunning paintings and endless writings about humanity itself.Now, as the world reacts to the death of Pope Francis on Monday at age 88, here are some suggestions for an artistic reflection on the papacy and the pontiff’s complex legacy.“The Two Popes” (movie)In the first few minutes of the 2019 film, cardinals assemble in Rome after the death of Pope John Paul II. It’s all very somber.Then, in a bathroom, someone starts whistling.“What’s the hymn you are whistling?” Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (a brooding Anthony Hopkins) asks the whistler, speaking in Latin.“Dancing Queen,” answers Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who was played by Jonathan Pryce and would eventually become Pope Francis.Ratzinger looks up, his shocked reaction reflected in the bathroom mirror as Bergoglio washes his hands.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Cardinals Must Now Decide on Francis’ Legacy

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      Pope Francis’ death on Monday introduces the Catholic Church to an uncertain era for which he tried to prepare it. The cardinals will soon be summoned to Rome for the conclave to elect his successor and must now consider if Francis’ vision — a merciful church in which all are welcome — remains the right one or whether an altogether different approach, perhaps one more focused on the demands of the Christian faith, is needed.Before the conclave starts, the cardinals will spend up to two weeks in Rome meeting to consider what kind of pope is needed, both for the church and for the world. As the discussions go on, they will ask, “Who among us?” Only then do the 135 cardinals eligible to vote — those under 80 years old — go into lockdown in the Sistine Chapel and decide on their choice.The cardinals will be aware of the moment. In the final months of Francis’ papacy, the West appeared to be fracturing, along with the post-World War II rules-based order. The world now seems a jungle in which might is right, in which imperial centers — America, China, Russia — compete ever more fiercely to assert their sovereignty while trampling on that of smaller nations. The cardinals will take note, too, of a social breakdown within many countries: the increasing collapse of civility and the angry resentment that lie behind the rise of nationalist populism. They will see growing violence and the prospect of more war.They will wonder what all this now asks of the church as a whole and of the papacy in particular.While worrying about the threat to democracy and law, most of the cardinals are not likely to mourn the imminent passing of the liberal order, which many may see as the consequence of individualism and market idolatry. They instead may blame Western liberalism for what they consider gross social inequalities, the privatization of morality, the erosion of institutions and the neglect of the common good.Many churchmen are traditionally sympathetic to workers; they share the indignation of ordinary people at the way the deck has been stacked in favor of the educated and wealthy and against the working poor. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, from which nearly half of the electors hail, many cardinals are also angry about market-driven globalization. They believe liberal Western values have been imposed on the world, dissolving bonds of trust, tradition, community and family.At the same time, probably few will be impressed by the rise of strongmen dressed in the flag of nation and faith. Many may regard Donald Trump, Elon Musk and his ilk as nihilists who know how to destroy but not to build and be aghast at the hounding of migrants and the reckless rejection of environmental concern, both of which were core to Catholic social teaching under Francis, who appointed four-fifths of the electors. They will probably see in the new authoritarianism a sign that the state is no longer acting as a brake on what St. Augustine called the “libido dominandi” — the desire to dominate — but now exalts it in the person of an autocrat.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More