Read Pope Leo XIV's first homily as pope

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV concelebrates Mass with the College of Cardinals wrong the Sistine Chapel astatine the Vatican the time aft his predetermination arsenic 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Friday, May 9, 2025. AP/Vatican media hide caption

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AP/Vatican media

ROME — Pope Leo XIV celebrated his archetypal Mass arsenic pope Friday greeting successful the Sistine Chapel. In attendance were the cardinals who elected him connected Thursday.

Leo spoke concisely successful English earlier his homily, saying:

"I privation to repetition the words from the Responsorial Psalm: 'I volition sing a caller opus to the Lord, due to the fact that He has done marvels,' and indeed, not conscionable with maine but with each of us.

"My member Cardinals, arsenic we observe this morning, I invitation you to bespeak connected the marvels the Lord has done, the blessings that the Lord continues to determination retired connected each of america done the Ministry of Peter.

"You person called maine to transportation that cross, and to transportation retired that mission, and I cognize I tin trust connected each and each 1 of you to locomotion with me, arsenic we proceed arsenic a Church, arsenic a assemblage of friends of Jesus, arsenic believers, to denote the Good News, to denote the Gospel."

During his homily, delivered successful Italian, Leo said that Christians indispensable service a satellite that is often hostile to their beliefs.

"Even today, determination are galore settings successful which the Christian religion is considered absurd, meant for the anemic and unintelligent. Settings wherever different securities are preferred, similar technology, money, success, power, oregon pleasure.

"These are contexts wherever it is not casual to preach the Gospel and carnivore witnesser to its truth, wherever believers are mocked, opposed, despised oregon astatine champion tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places wherever our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A deficiency of religion is often tragically accompanied by the nonaccomplishment of meaning successful life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of quality dignity, the situation of the household and truthful galore different wounds that afflict our society."

Here is the afloat homily, arsenic translated from the Italian by the Vatican:

"You are the Christ, the Son of the surviving God" (Mt 16:16). In these words, Peter, asked by the Master, unneurotic with the different disciples, astir his religion successful him, expressed the patrimony that the Church, done the apostolic succession, has preserved, deepened and handed connected for 2 1000 years.

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the surviving God: the 1 Saviour, who unsocial reveals the look of the Father.

In him, God, successful bid to marque himself adjacent and accessible to men and women, revealed himself to america successful the trusting eyes of a child, successful the lively caput of a young idiosyncratic and successful the mature features of a antheral (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22), yet appearing to his disciples aft the resurrection with his glorious body. He frankincense showed america a exemplary of quality holiness that we tin each imitate, unneurotic with the committedness of an eternal destiny that transcends each our limits and abilities.

Peter, successful his response, understands some of these things: the acquisition of God and the way to travel successful bid to let himself to beryllium changed by that gift. They are 2 inseparable aspects of salvation entrusted to the Church to beryllium proclaimed for the bully of the quality race. Indeed, they are entrusted to us, who were chosen by him earlier we were formed successful our mothers' wombs (cf. Jer 1:5), reborn successful the waters of Baptism and, surpassing our limitations and with nary merit of our own, brought present and sent distant from here, truthful that the Gospel mightiness beryllium proclaimed to each carnal (cf. Mk 16:15).

In a peculiar way, God has called maine by your predetermination to win the Prince of the Apostles, and has entrusted this treasure to maine truthful that, with his help, I whitethorn beryllium its faithful head (cf. 1 Cor 4:2) for the involvement of the full mystical Body of the Church. He has done truthful successful bid that she whitethorn beryllium ever much afloat a metropolis acceptable connected a elevation (cf. Rev 21:10), an ark of salvation sailing done the waters of past and a beacon that illumines the acheronian nights of this world. And this, not truthful overmuch done the magnificence of her structures oregon the grandeur of her buildings – similar the monuments among which we find ourselves – but alternatively done the holiness of her members. For we are the radical whom God has chosen arsenic his own, truthful that we whitethorn state the fantastic deeds of him who called america retired of acheronian into his marvellous airy (cf. 1 Pet 2:9).

Peter, however, makes his assemblage of religion successful reply to a circumstantial question: "Who bash radical accidental that the Son of Man is?" (Mt 16:13). The question is not insignificant. It concerns an indispensable facet of our ministry, namely, the satellite successful which we live, with its limitations and its potential, its questions and its convictions.

"Who bash radical accidental that the Son of Man is?" If we bespeak connected the country we are considering, we mightiness find 2 imaginable answers, which qualify 2 antithetic attitudes.

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, 2nd from left, concelebrates Mass with the College of Cardinals wrong the Sistine Chapel astatine the Vatican the time aft his predetermination arsenic 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Friday, May 9, 2025. AP/Vatican media hide caption

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AP/Vatican media

First, determination is the world's response. Matthew tells america that this speech betwixt Jesus and his disciples takes spot successful the beauteous municipality of Caesarea Philippi, filled with luxurious palaces, acceptable successful a magnificent earthy scenery astatine the ft of Mount Hermon, but besides a spot of cruel powerfulness plays and the country of betrayals and infidelity. This mounting speaks to america of a satellite that considers Jesus a wholly insignificant person, astatine champion idiosyncratic with an antithetic and striking mode of speaking and acting. And so, erstwhile his beingness becomes irksome due to the fact that of his demands for honesty and his stern motivation requirements, this "world" volition not hesitate to cull and destruct him.

Then determination is the different imaginable effect to Jesus' question: that of mean people. For them, the Nazarene is not a charlatan, but an upright man, 1 who has courage, who speaks good and says the close things, similar different large prophets successful the past of Israel. That is wherefore they travel him, astatine slightest for arsenic agelong arsenic they tin bash truthful without excessively overmuch hazard oregon inconvenience. Yet to them helium is lone a man, and therefore, successful times of danger, during his passion, they excessively wantonness him and depart disappointed.

What is striking astir these 2 attitudes is their relevance today. They embody notions that we could easy find connected the lips of galore men and women successful our ain time, adjacent if, portion fundamentally identical, they are expressed successful antithetic language.

Even today, determination are galore settings successful which the Christian religion is considered absurd, meant for the anemic and unintelligent. Settings wherever different securities are preferred, similar technology, money, success, power, oregon pleasure.

These are contexts wherever it is not casual to preach the Gospel and carnivore witnesser to its truth, wherever believers are mocked, opposed, despised oregon astatine champion tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places wherever our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A deficiency of religion is often tragically accompanied by the nonaccomplishment of meaning successful life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of quality dignity, the situation of the household and truthful galore different wounds that afflict our society.

Today, too, determination are galore settings successful which Jesus, though appreciated arsenic a man, is reduced to a benignant of charismatic person oregon superman. This is existent not lone among non-believers but besides among galore baptized Christians, who frankincense extremity up living, astatine this level, successful a authorities of applicable atheism.

This is the satellite that has been entrusted to us, a satellite successful which, arsenic Pope Francis taught america truthful galore times, we are called to carnivore witnesser to our joyful religion successful Jesus the Saviour. Therefore, it is indispensable that we excessively repeat, with Peter: "You are the Christ, the Son of the surviving God" (Mt 16:16).

It is indispensable to bash this, archetypal of all, successful our idiosyncratic narration with the Lord, successful our committedness to a regular travel of conversion. Then, to bash truthful arsenic a Church, experiencing unneurotic our fidelity to the Lord and bringing the Good News to each (cf. Lumen Gentium, 1).

I accidental this archetypal of each to myself, arsenic the Successor of Peter, arsenic I statesman my ngo arsenic Bishop of Rome and, according to the well-known look of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, americium called to preside successful foundation implicit the cosmopolitan Church (cf. Letter to the Romans, Prologue). Saint Ignatius, who was led successful chains to this city, the spot of his impending sacrifice, wrote to the Christians there: "Then I volition genuinely beryllium a disciple of Jesus Christ, erstwhile the satellite nary longer sees my body" (Letter to the Romans, IV, 1). Ignatius was speaking astir being devoured by chaotic beasts successful the arena – and truthful it happened – but his words use much mostly to an indispensable committedness for each those successful the Church who workout a ministry of authority. It is to determination speech truthful that Christ whitethorn remain, to marque oneself tiny truthful that helium whitethorn beryllium known and glorified (cf. Jn 3:30), to walk oneself to the utmost truthful that each whitethorn person the accidental to cognize and emotion him.

May God assistance maine this grace, contiguous and always, done the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church.