Tens of thousands came to St. Peter’s Square to mark the official start of the pontificate of the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church. Vice President JD Vance was among the dignitaries who attended.

Pope Leo XIV has taken the reins as leader of the Catholic Church, and on Friday, May 9, started his first full day as Pontiff with a mass at the Sistine Chapel, during which he called his election both a cross and a blessing.

Pope Leo XIV ’s inaugural Mass on Sunday morning in St. Peter’s Square and Basilica is a ritual filled with symbolism that