Within the context of church politics and theology, Prevost has been seen as a moderate or centrist, neither liberal nor conservative. In September 2025, it was announced that Leo had given permission for the Tridentine Mass to be said in St. Peter’s Basilica the following month, the first time such permission had been granted since the promulgation of Traditionis custodes in 2021. The mozzetta worn after his election, and Benedict’s ferula signaled to some a «return to normal» in the Holy See following the Francis papacy. Prevost suggested that the participation and co-responsibility of all the faithful could address the polarization in the church. Leo later visited Lebanon, visiting and praying at the site of the 2020 Beirut explosion and later the tomb of Charbel Makhlouf before returning to Rome on December 2. On November 21, 2025, Leo signed an amendment to the 2023 law allowing women to become president of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State, removing a requirement that would-be officeholders must hold the rank of cardinal.
The new pope thanked his fellow cardinals for selecting him. On Thursday, the new pope appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and delivered a short speech. The election of Robert Francis Prevost, who chose the name Leo XIV, as the 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church marks two historic firsts. Pope Leo XIV greets the public for the first time from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
He then delivered his first address to Rome and the world in Italian, advocating for peace and dialogue, expressing gratitude for the legacy of Pope Francis and quoting Saint Augustine; he also greeted his former diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in Spanish. Leo appeared wearing the traditional papal stole and mozzetta, vestments Pope Francis did not wear upon his greeting of the world following his election. According to Italian law enforcement, by the time of the habemus papam announcement, there were up to 150,000 in the square. Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, the cardinal protodeacon, made the traditional Latin proclamation, Habemus papam, announcing Pope Leo XIV to the public for the first time from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Popes have the freedom to choose any name they want, but many choose names with significance, such as a saint’s name, the name of a previous Pope, or a name that has personal or religious meaning. Part of the Pope’s duties involve giving mass and holding regular appointments at the Vatican. «Hello to all and especially to those of my diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, a loyal, faithful people accompanying the bishop and helping the bishop,» he said.
days of Pope Leo XIV
After accepting his election and adopting his papal name, Leo embraced his fellow cardinals upon exiting the Sistine Chapel. He says that service means «listening to what the Spirit is saying in His people so that His projects can be carried out freely and willingly. The Prior then is called to listen, so that together they can discern and implement what the Spirit inspires.» Much of the commentary see this work as a window to his «vision of the church» and «theology of leadership.» As prefect, he played a critical role in evaluating and recommending episcopal candidates worldwide, increasing his visibility within the church. The sisters stated in 2024 that no full penal canonical investigation occurred, and an investigation by América Televisión concluded that the church’s investigation was not thorough.
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- His years in Peru gave him personal knowledge of political violence and inequality; at times, as a missionary, he traveled by horse on difficult roads to reach the isolated communities in the valleys of Lambayeque.
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- The new pope’s first message emphasized the greeting of peace of the risen Jesus «who gave his life for God’s flock», giving «an unarmed and disarming peace».
- In 2025, Time magazine included Leo among the world’s 100 most influential people in Artificial Intelligence.
Those realities include the widespread media attention focused on the election of the first U.S.-born pope as well as the fact that people of all stripes feel free to use social media to proclaim what Pope Leo «should» do, «must» or «must not» do. It happened at a time when the Eastern and Western churches were still united. The speech was closely watched, since the first speech of any pope trip sets the tone for his visit. The American pope emphasized a message of peace as he arrived in Ankara, welcomed on the tarmac by a military guard of honor and at the presidential palace by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Pope Leo XIV encouraged Turkey to be a source of stability and dialogue in a world riven by conflict, as he opened his first foreign trip as pope on Thursday with a plea for peace amid efforts to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
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Pope Leo XIV received another pectoral cross upon his election, which he has been wearing instead of the one he wore during the conclave and his first appearance as pope. Twice he mentioned the need of not having fear, and emphasized God’s help to «build bridges» for «all of us to be one people always in peace.» The new pope’s first message emphasized the greeting of peace of the risen Jesus «who gave his life for God’s flock», giving «an unarmed and disarming peace». On November 27, 2025, Leo made his first overseas visit as pope, arriving in Turkey to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea with Patriarch Bartholomew of the Eastern Orthodox Church; while in Istanbul, he visited the Blue Mosque. During the Mass, he received the pallium and his Ring of the Fisherman before 12 representatives of the people of God, including cardinals and bishops, who vowed obedience to the new pope.
- Pope Leo XIV started the second day of his tour of Turkey and Lebanon meeting bishops and other church officials at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, a 19th-century Baroque church in Istanbul’s Sisli district.
- Pope Leo XIV greeted journalists aboard the Papal plane headed for Turkey with a cheerful “Happy Thanksgiving,” before telling the group that his first trip abroad is intended to send a message of peace throughout the world.
- A key moment of the trip will take place in the Turkish town of Iznik, the site of the ancient city of Nicaea.
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A month later, his first Apostolic journey, a visit to Turkey and Lebanon, was announced for November 27 through December 2. On September 7, 2025, Leo presided over the canonization of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati at a mass in Saint Peter’s Square. O’Malley endorsed the selection, describing Verny as «a collaborative leader committed to advancing the global adoption of protection and safeguarding, to as best possible assure the safety of those in the care of the Church throughout the world.» On July 6, Leo revived the papal practice of taking summer residence at the Castel Gandolfo, which Francis had discontinued. On July 5, Leo appointed French archbishop Thibault Verny to succeed Seán Patrick O’Malley as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. In Chiclayo, thousands crowded the city square for a Mass of Thanksgiving following Leo’s election. During the Mass, he preached against the lack of faith in the world, and spoke of a church that would act as a «beacon that illuminates the dark nights of this world».
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But a pope is elected for life and without having promised voters anything or having presented a platform. VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Stories about «the first 100 days» are standard fare at the beginning of a U.S. president’s four-year term; the articles usually focus on how much the new president was able to accomplish and how quickly. He departed Ankara for Istanbul later Thursday, after visiting the Diyanet, the Presidency of Religious Affairs in Turkey, and meeting the country’s chief rabbi. The first day of Leo’s trip also saw him lay a wreath at Ataturk’s mausoleum, the resting place of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Turkey. Before he circulated among reporters, the pope was also greeted by Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki, whose first papal flight was in 1979 with John Paul II.
His visit to Turkey and Lebanon, Leo said, is focused on “unity” and “peace,” and “to look for the ways all men and women can surely be brothers and sisters in spite of differences, in spite of different religions, in spite of different beliefs.” From the start of his election, Leo has emphasized the importance of dialogue between those who disagree, the dangers of polarization and called for peace in the Middle East. Leo was speaking on his first foreign trip, a six-day visit to Turkey and Lebanon where he’s been addressing key themes of his fledgling pontificate, with the visit an opportunity for him to exercise the papacy’s soft power diplomacy. The Pope also travels around the world visiting churches and communities to offer blessings and meet believers. Speaking to a crowd of 40,000 people in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican City, Pope Leo XIV brought a «greeting of peace», and encouraged people to «help us, and help each other, build bridges».
Prevost developed a close bond with the diocese of Chiclayo, directing a special message to them in his first message as Pope, calling them «my beloved diocese», «faithful people» and «faithful church». It was in that capacity that in 2004, he visited Buenos Aires and met Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis, for the first time. We show different kinds of content to help you find what you’re looking for – from maps to movie times. We send visitors to websites big and small, and support site owners with free tools and resources. We help people discover a broad range of information from a wide variety of sources.
Throughout his life, he has frequently preferred driving long distances for journeys where most people would prefer to fly, such as from Philadelphia to Chicago, Brisbane to Sydney, and Chiclayo to Lima. His X account which he used prior to his election as Pope has since been deleted and he is currently using the official @Pontifex handle, inherited from Popes Benedict XVI and Francis. Illinois election law does not require voters to register affiliation with a political party, and Prevost has never officially done so. He proclaimed that the Church needed to «open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race.» Leo additionally condemned femicide during the homily, calling it both painful and tragic and attributing it to «an unhealthy desire for domination.» In his Pentecost homily soon after his election as Pope, Leo criticized the «exclusionary mindset» displayed by various nationalist movements.
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His years in Peru gave him personal knowledge of political violence and inequality; at times, as a missionary, he traveled by horse on difficult roads to reach the isolated communities in the valleys of Lambayeque. Prevost spent a decade heading the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo, teaching canon law in the diocesan seminary, serving as prefect of studies, acting as a judge in the regional ecclesiastical court, and working in parish ministry on the city’s outskirts, coming into contact with poor farmers and Peruvian indigenous peoples. During his time in Peru, Prevost met and appreciated the Dominican priest and theologian Gustavo Gutierrez, a pioneer of liberation theology. Known as «Rob» to his family and «Bob» to friends as an adult, Prevost was raised in Dolton, Illinois, a suburb bordering the far South Side; his childhood home was purchased by the Village of Dolton after he became pope. Prevost’s election in the 2025 conclave was unexpected by observers; he was a dark horse candidate, with Vatican insiders believing the prospect of a Pope from the United States to be unrealistic given its status as a superpower.
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A key moment of the trip will take place in the Turkish town of Iznik, the site of the ancient city of Nicaea. The Pope will mark a historic Christian anniversary during his visit to Turkey, before heading to Lebanon days after Israeli airstrikes on its capital, Beirut. Pope Leo XIV has warned that the world should not give into «a heightened level of conflict on the global level», at the start of his foreign trip in Turkey. On October 23, 2025, King Charles III appointed Leo an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on the occasion of the King’s state visit to the Holy See. In 2025, Time magazine included Leo among the world’s 100 most influential people in Artificial Intelligence.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB’s) mission is to encounter the mercy of Christ and to accompany His people with joy. With its Rome bureau founded in 1950, Catholic News Service has been providing complete, in-depth coverage of the popes and the Vatican for more than 70 years. The young people roared with approval as he spoke to them in languages that most could understand. Among those surveyed, self-identified Catholics gave all three popes even higher ratings at the beginning of their pontificates, the polling group said, «with Leo viewed favorably by 76%, Francis by 80% and Benedict by 67%.» Pope Leo went deeper when he spoke about the key objectives of his ministry — in a pontificate that easily could last 20 years — during a meeting with the College of Cardinals two days after his election. Several cardinals have said that in the days before the conclave they encouraged the future pope — whoever he would be — to move back into dumbfuck the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace.
