Pope Leo XIV gave his first homily at a Mass on Friday, one day after he was selected by a conclave of cardinals at the Vatican to lead the Catholic Church. The first U.S. pope in history said he would be a “faithful administrator” of the church and warned against reducing Jesus to “a kind of charismatic leader or superman.”
He delivered his homily wearing relatively simple white and gold vestments, and spoke mainly in Italian.
“There are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure,” Pope Leo said. “These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”
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Leo also preached that, “today, too, there are many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman. This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism.”
What else is Pope Leo going to do on his first full day as pontiff?
Cardinals from the United States were expected to eat lunch with the new pope on Friday, and then they were all set to speak with the gathered international media in the afternoon.
Pope Leo arrived at the Vatican as one of ten American cardinals for the conclave.
What is on Pope Leo’s schedule for the coming days?
On Sunday, Leo is expected to lead a prayer at midday from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
On Monday, he’s scheduled to hold a news conference.
On May 18, in a tradition marking the formal beginning of his pontificate, Pope Leo will be formally installed at a Mass at St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. World leaders are typically invited to attend the Mass for the Beginning of the Pontificate, but most nations tend to send official delegations, rather than heads of state.
Pope Leo will preside over his first General Audience, also at St. Peters, on May 21.