Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Leo XIV.

Petersplatz, 00120 Rom, Italien - On Sunday morning, Pope Leo XIV was solemnly enthroned at 6 p.m. on St. Peter's Square in Rome. Over 200,000 people experienced the ceremony, at Leo XIV, the first Pope from the USA, drove through the cheering crowd for half an hour in an open papamobile. The inauguration was an important event, because Leo XIV took more time for those present than his predecessor, Pope Francis, who only took a few minutes for his inauguration in 2013.

In his excited speech, the 69-year-old Pope emphasized the topics and peace. He expressed his desire for peace in conflict areas such as Gaza, Ukraine and Myanmar. Particularly noteworthy should be emphasized that the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj was present and listened to the words of the Pope for "just peace". After the celebration, Selenskyj received a personal audience from the new Pope.

First Sunday regeneration and statements

Of course, Leo XIV also followed the tradition of granting the Sunday blessings, which was also his first as a Pope. This speech took place from the Loggia of the St. Peter's Cathedral in the presence of around 100,000 people, which underlined the importance of the moment. The Pope sang the Regina Caeli prayer and thus returned to traditional liturgies that were often replaced by his predecessors by recitation.

Pope Leo XIV. He metaphorically called the situation in Ukraine a "Third World War in pieces" and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian aid for the affected civilian population. Even those present, including 200 delegations with cardinals, queens and presidents, also followed his words with great interest.

political and social importance

The new Pope may seem to be "the right Pope at the right time" in the midst of urgent global challenges. The Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger expressed this assessment at a short meeting with Leo XIV Chancellor Christian Stocker thanked the Pope and invited him to visit Austria. On Monday, US Vice President JD Vance is expected in the Vatican, which illustrates the geopolitical dimension of Leo's term.

The choice of Leo XIV as 267. Pope is not only significant from a religious perspective. It is also in the historical context of the papacy, which has been shaped by a wide range of challenges since late antiquity. The popes claim to be in the successor of the apostle Simon Peter, and the development of the papacy from a local to a universal institution was accompanied by various political and social upheavals, as the historiography shows.

The persistent relevance of the papacy is once more evident in the current situation, where Leo XIV tries to be a moral voice into an increasingly troubled world, while the papacy has to adapt to social changes in the 21st century.