Pope Leo XIV celebrates first Mass, a day after being elected as pontiff | World News

A day after his election as the first North American pope, Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass Friday in the Sine Chapel with the cardinals who chose him. He said he hopes to be a “faithful adminrator” for the entire church.
Upon his election on Thursday, the pontiff said in Italian: “Together, we must try to find out how to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges, establishes dialogue, that’s always open to receive.”
At the Vatican, Leo has been no stranger to reforms. As the prefect of the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, he oversaw a major shift in Church governance helping implement Francis’ unprecedented move to allow women to vote in the process of new bishops.
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First acts as pontiff
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced the pope’s initial public duties:

Friday: Celebrates Mass with cardinals in the Sine Chapel at 11 am.
Sunday: Delivers his first public Angelus blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s.
Monday: Holds an official audience with the international press corps.

Pope Leo XIV, first from the United States to become a pontiff, gets emotional as he greets the world. Watch
Religious scholars say Leo’s election could help recenter the US Catholic Church, long divided between traditional and progressive factions.
In the days ahead, Leo is expected to deliver his first Sunday blessing, meet with the press, and possibly undertake his first foreign trip — a planned visit to Turkey to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a landmark event in Chrian hory.Story continues below this ad
Born in 1955 in Chicago, Illinois, Robert Francis Prevost grew up in a devout Catholic family in the Midwest. He spent some time in Peru, and in In 2023, Pope Francis brought him to the Vatican.
(With inputs from AP)
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