Vatican Dispatch | The First Weekend of Pope Leo XIV’s Pontificate

It’s Monday morning in Rome, the fifth day of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate. In a few hours, I’ll join other journalists for a press audience with the new pope. I’ll share more about that later today. But for now, there’s much to report from his first weekend as pope.

We now have the full English text of the Urbi et Orbi blessing (“To the City and the World”) given right after his election. Beyond his ease with multiple languages, one thing is clear: this pope can write.

After opening with “Peace be with you all!” he offered this: “It is the peace of the risen Christ—a peace that is disarmed and disarming, humble and persevering; a peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.” (I’ve lightly adjusted the Vatican’s English translation to reflect the poetic rhythm of the original Italian phrase, una pace disarmata e una pace disarmante.)

His homiletical prose is also beautiful, calling hearers to imagine: “Together, we must look for ways to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges and encourages dialogue, a Church ever open to welcoming, like this Square with its open arms, all those who are in need of our charity, our presence, our readiness to dialogue and our love.”

The pope also plainly articulated deeply theological ideas without sounding like he was delivering a theology lecture: “We want to be a synodal Church, a Church that moves forward, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close above all to those who are suffering.” (“Synodal” may need unpacking, but so do many words in the Christian vocabulary. Here, the pope used it as a clear signal to those who could hear its layered meaning.)

Friday

On Friday, Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass—not in public at St. Peter’s, but in the Sistine Chapel with the cardinals who had elected him the day before.

 In his homily, he quoted the responsorial psalm from earlier in the liturgy: “I will sing a new song to the Lord, because he has done marvels”—adding, “not just with me, but with all of us.”

He described his calling in cruciform terms related to the sacrificial nature of Christ, referencing the second-century bishop Ignatius of Antioch, who came to Rome in chains and was martyred there.

Quoting Ignatius’s Letter to the Romans—“Then I will truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world no longer sees my body”—Leo reflected on church leadership: “It is to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified, to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.” 

Leo concluded by praying that God may grant him the grace to minister in such a way.

By Friday evening, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) had already published a detailed account of the electoral dynamics inside the conclave from the day before. The report matched the depth and complexity that took Vatican journalist Gerard O’Connell six years to publish in his book about the conclave that elected Pope Francis. The New York Times corroborated many of these details in a story they published on Sunday.

In short: Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State and expected frontrunner, failed to gain enough early support. Cardinal Robert Prevost had already emerged in pre-conclave discussions as a compelling alternative—moderate in ideology and committed to continuing Pope Francis’s trajectory. By the third round of voting (the second session on Thursday morning), it was clear that momentum was building behind Prevost. After lunch, the fourth round gave him 105 out of 132 votes—well over the 89 needed.

Reporters learned that cardinals were impressed with Prevost’s skills in organizing the daily congregation meetings, leading small group discussions among the cardinals, and his deep listening skills. When Prevost delivered a brief speech in the daily congregations, his fellow cardinals were stirred, not by flashy oratory but by Prevost’s commitment to Pope Francis’ vision and commitment to a synodal church.

As the North American cardinal, Prevost, was described by some as the “least American” of the cardinals from the United States. With his deep connections to South America, he drew strong support from the cardinals of the Western Hemisphere, as well as those from Europe, Africa and Asia.

Saturday

On Saturday morning, Pope Leo XIV met with the College of Cardinals, a customary post-conclave gesture. But rather than the typical one-way address, he also engaged in conversation with them, continuing the dialogue about the church’s future that had begun in the pre-conclave daily congregational meeting. He told them that it would be “the opportunity that many of you had asked for: a sort of dialogue with the College of Cardinals to hear what advice, suggestions, proposals, concrete things, which have already been discussed in the days leading up to the conclave.”

According to the summary provided by the Holy See Press Office, the cardinals returned to many of the themes and visions for the church discussed during those earlier meetings.

In his address to his “brother cardinals,” Leo deliberately connected the movement of the Catholic Church from the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) to the way Pope Francis had embodied and carried them forward. Drawing from Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), he highlighted the central role of Christ in preaching, the Church’s call to missionary renewal, ideas of collegiality and synodality, inclusive attention to the sensus fidei (the Church-wide understanding of faith, especially as shown in the devotion of the faithful), care for the marginalized, and bold dialogue with the modern world.

Leo said that he sees himself as “called to continue in this same path” (the reforms of the church in Vatican II carried forward by Pope Francis), connecting the intention to his selection of the papal name Leo XIV:

“There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.”

This wasn’t the only time in his short papacy that Leo mentioned the potential threats of artificial intelligence to human dignity and the dignity of labor. The theological framing of artificial intelligence as a Christian ethical issue may well become a defining aspect of his papacy.

After he met with the College of Cardinals, U.S. cardinals held a press conference to journalists from select media outlets. (The first two questions were asked by NBC’s Lester Holt, whom I later enjoyed meeting, along with ABC’s Terry Moran, in the security line for the audience Pope Leo granted journalists.)

While I was not part of the press pool for that conference, I watched a recording later that day. The cardinals’ responses to questions provide insight into the internal dynamics of the conclave. Despite the ideological differences among the U.S. cardinals, they expressed solid support for the new pope.

Later that day, the pope visited the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel, governed by the Augustinian order he once oversaw. The shrine holds an image of the Virgin Mary that had personal meaning for Pope Leo XIII. The stop came en route to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where Pope Francis is buried.

I had made my own pilgrimage to Pope Francis’ tomb shortly before Pope Leo’s arrival, thanking God for Francis’ life and ministry. I prayed that we all might more fully commit ourselves to how he exemplified and taught the way of Jesus.

I tried to practice guidance from our Baptist-Catholic dialogue: even though we all may not practice asking the saints to pray for us, as part of the communion of saints, we can pray along with the departed saints. So I prayed along with Pope Francis, and I trust that he continues to pray for us.

A photo released by Vatican Media of Pope Leo XIV praying at Pope Francis’s tomb was incredibly moving. It captured the new pope’s gratitude for his predecessor’s ministry and his intention to follow in Francis’ path.

Sunday

On Sunday morning, Pope Leo celebrated a quiet Mass at an altar in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, near the traditional site of Peter’s tomb. In his brief homily, he tied the day’s theme—Christ the Good Shepherd—to both Mother’s Day and the call to pastoral ministry. He urged fellow ministers to help young people discern their callings.

At noon, the pope appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to lead the crowd of about 100,000 people in the Regina Caeli (“Queen of Heaven”), a traditional Eastertide prayer. He again mentioned Good Shepherd Sunday and encouraged the crowd to join him in prayer for vocations to the priesthood. He also urged the church to be intentional in accompanying young people.

The pope then returned to the call for peace in a world torn apart by war, speaking of “a piecemeal third world war” as a threat to humanity.

He mentioned the war in Ukraine, calling for “an authentic, just, and lasting peace.” Regarding the devastation in Gaza, he called for an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and the freeing of hostages. He also noted the conflict between India and Pakistan.

I expect peacemaking in a world of violence to be one of the distinctive emphases of Leo’s papacy.

A Word of Caution

As delightful as it might be to think about the pope playing in clubs as a jazz trombonist under a different identity, there’s no evidence that he did so. And as much as those of us who take being called “woke” as a compliment might be encouraged by the pope himself encouraging us to “be woke,” there’s no record of the new pope ever saying or writing such a thing.

So be careful when sharing memes and posts that purport to be something the pope said or did. It’s also worth checking the date of a legitimate quote. It is important whether something was said or written before or after he became pope.

That said, there are plenty of incredible stories and authentic, powerful quotes, and I expect we’ll be discovering more in the coming days.