American Pope Leo XIV celebrates first mass as pontiff

Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff to take up the very best seat within the Catholic Church, returned to the Sistine Chapel on Friday to ship his first mass in an tackle to the greater than 1.4 billion Catholics he now leads. 

The pontiff urged outreach and missionary work and warned that a lot of what the Church stands for, and the assumption in Jesus Christ, has been lessened within the eyes of each believers and non-believers.

“In the present day, too, there are various settings during which Jesus, though appreciated as a person, is diminished to a type of charismatic chief or superman,” he mentioned in a homily translated from Italian, warning that this has led to even baptized Christians residing in “a state of sensible atheism.”

Pope Leo XIV leads the Professional Ecclesia Mass within the Sistine Chapel, on Could 9, 2025 in Vatican Metropolis. (Photograph by Vatican Media/Vatican Pool – Corbis/Getty Photos)

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“There are a lot of settings during which the Christian religion is taken into account absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings the place different securities are most popular, like know-how, cash, success, energy, or pleasure,” the pope mentioned. 

The brand new pontiff will face many challenges forward as followers wait to see how he’ll lead the church and which points he’ll select to place nice emphasis on. 

The pope has not mentioned why he selected the title Leo to name himself, however papal names signify predecessors or values they admire, suggesting the latest pontiff will put great emphasis on social issues primarily based on others within the papacy who’ve held that title. 

Pope Leo XIV leads the Professional Ecclesia Mass within the Sistine Chapel, on Could 9, 2025 in Vatican Metropolis. (Photograph by Vatican Media/Vatican Pool – Corbis/Getty Photos)

Like his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo is anticipated to deal with humanity and kindness, significantly within the face of worldwide migration and serving to the poor. 

It stays unclear how this American pope will work together with the Trump administration, given obvious divisions over positions on the remedy of migrants and different points involving human rights.

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In his homily, the pope additionally pointed to a lack of religion and argued it has not solely led to a loss within the which means of life, however a loss in “human dignity.”

Pope Leo XIV leads the Professional Ecclesia Mass within the Sistine Chapel, on Could 9, 2025 in Vatican Metropolis. (Photograph by Vatican Media/Vatican Pool – Corbis/Getty Photos)

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“These are contexts the place it’s not simple to evangelise the Gospel and bear witness to its fact, the place believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at finest tolerated and pitied,” he mentioned. 

Pope Leo went on to say that “An absence of religion is usually tragically accompanied by the lack of which means in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the disaster of the household and so many different wounds that afflict our society.”