Our New Pope is Installed!

Our new Pope Leo XIV celebrated his Inaugural Mass at St. Peter’s Square on Sunday 18 May 2025 to begin his Papacy.  His Homily for the Mass offers much encouragement and hope for the future of our Church. 

First off, Pope Leo XIV’s Homily was anchored in Scripture, and the teachings of his namesake predecessor Pope Leo XIII and the great Doctor of the Church St. Augustine.  He began his Homily by quoting from St. Augustine’s Confessions:  “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Later in his Homily, the Pope quoted St. Augustine again, this time from his Sermon 359.  He also spoke of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum which plays such a vital role in modern Catholic social teaching. 

In his Homily, Pope Leo XIV quoted from the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John, the Acts of the Apostles, the First Letter of St. Peter, and the prophet Jeremiah.  As Sunday’s Gospel recounts Jesus’s post-Resurrection visit with the Apostles on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Pope Leo XIV talked about how this encounter helped prepare St. Peter for the leadership role that he would perform in carrying out Jesus’s ministry.    He said, “The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda, or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.”

Second, there are several prominent themes in Pope Leo XIV’s Inaugural Homily:  humility, love, missionary efforts, unity, peace, and building Christ’s Church.  “Love and unity: These are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus,” he said. 

 The following statement in particular speaks volumes about the heart of our new Supreme Pontiff:   “I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.” 

Overall, our new Pope’s message is hopeful and encouraging and motivated by a love of God and neighbor and a fervent desire to walk with us in our spiritual journey.  In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV said:  “With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.  Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk toward God and love one another.”

May Saint Peter and all of Pope Leo XIV’s saintly predecessors intercede for him and our Church as he embarks upon the most challenging service of being the current Head of our Church. 

The full text of Pope Leo XIV’s Homily is posted online by Catholic News Agency at https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264191/full-text-pope-leo-xivs-homily-at-inaugural-mass-beginning-his-petrine-ministry