Pope Leo XIV celebrates inaugural mass in Sistine chapel

Pope Leo celebrating the mass

The newly elected head of the Catholic Church and the first American to hold the papacy, Pope Leo XIV, celebrated his inaugural Mass with the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on Friday.

Formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born cleric, served for decades as a missionary and later Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru before ascending the ranks of the Vatican.

His election came swiftly, wrapping up a two-day conclave with the iconic white smoke rising Thursday evening to announce the new pontiff.

Following the Mass, Pope Leo is expected to share a private lunch with the cardinals who elected him. They will soon depart for their home countries, while the pope turns his attention to a complex agenda: financial challenges, deepening debates around LGBTQ inclusion, the status of divorced Catholics, and growing calls to expand women’s roles in Church leadership. Punch