Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S. pontiff in the long history of the Roman Catholic Church, prepares to officiate his first mass. Meet him at St Peter’s Square on May 11 as he makes this historic journey! The upcoming 2018 event is expected to attract upwards of 250,000 participants. This assembly will be a landmark moment in faith and civic life, and history. The new 69-year-old pope, who until recently used the name Robert Prevost, was born in Chicago. Clément, 60, became the first appointed cardinal to be elected Pope after a papal conclave lasted less than 26 hours earlier this month.
We’ve all been following Pope Leo XIV’s historic election. He is arguably creating even bigger waves with his controversial and unorthodox views against immigration enforcement policies implemented during Donald Trump’s tenure. Most importantly, he’s taken advantage of social platforms like X and Threads to directly communicate his thoughts. On X, he has 52 million followers and converses with them in nine languages.
In a recent op-ed titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” he addressed themes of compassion and inclusivity, reflecting his commitment to social issues. His impromptu, charismatic style that has been on display on social media will carry on via official papal accounts on X and at Instagram.
On the day of his inauguration, Pope Leo XIV will arrive at St Peter’s Square in a popemobile, taking time to greet the massive crowd gathered to witness this historic event. Prior to the mass, he will receive two traditional gifts that symbolize the papacy: a gold signet fisherman’s ring and a lamb’s wool pallium. The golden ring is a tribute to St. Peter, the first pope himself. At the same time, the pallium represents his duty to be a shepherd to his flock.
Pope Leo XIV has indeed called, repeatedly, for an era of peace and dialogue among nations. He emphasized this commitment in a recent statement:
“The Holy See is willing to help enemies meet, so they may look each other in the eye and so people may be given back the dignity they deserve: the dignity of peace. With heart in hand, I say to the leaders of nations: let us meet; let us dialogue; let us negotiate!” – Pope Leo XIV
Though popular with the public, he has come under fire from all sides, with some critics even calling him anti-Trump, as well as pro-open borders. Laura Loomer recently remarked on his stance, saying he is “anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis.”