In his first Mass as head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV called on the faithful to “bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Savior” in a world where “a lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life.”
Preaching in the Sistine Chapel on May 9 to the cardinals who elected him, the first pope born in the United States opened his homily in English.
“My brother cardinals, as we celebrate this morning, I invite you to recognize the marvels that the Lord has done, the blessings that the Lord continues to pour out on all of us through the ministry of Peter,” the new pope said, speaking off the cuff.
“You have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission, and I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me, as we continue as a Church, as a community of friends of Jesus, as believers to announce the good news, to announce the Gospel.”
He continued the rest of the homily in Italian, reflecting on the Gospel question Jesus posed to Peter: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Leo XIV — the Chicago native and Augustinian missionary born Robert Prevost — said the world’s response often rejects Jesus “because of his demands for honesty and his stern moral requirements.”
“Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure,” he said.
“These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised, or at best tolerated and pitied,” he continued. “Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed.”
“A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family, and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”
The pope said this is “the world that has been entrusted to us,” where believers are “called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Savior.”
“It is essential to do this, first of all, in our personal relationship with the Lord, in our commitment to a daily journey of conversion. Then, to do so as a Church, experiencing together our fidelity to the Lord and bringing the good news to all,” he said.
“I say this first of all to myself, as the successor of Peter, as I begin my mission as bishop of Rome and, according to the well-known expression of St. Ignatius of Antioch, am called to preside in charity over the universal Church (cf. Letter to the Romans, Prologue),” he said.
“St. Ignatius, who was led in chains to this city, the place of his impending sacrifice, wrote to the Christians there: ‘Then I will truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world no longer sees my body’ (Letter to the Romans, IV, 1),” the pope said.
“Ignatius was speaking about being devoured by wild beasts in the arena — and so it happened — but his words apply more generally to an indispensable commitment for all those in the Church who exercise a ministry of authority. It is to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified (cf. Jn 3:30), to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him. May God grant me this grace, today and always, through the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church.”
Leo XIV offered the Mass in the Sistine Chapel, where he was elected Thursday afternoon as the 266th successor of Peter. It marked the first time Pope Leo XIV prayed the Eucharistic Prayer as bishop of Rome, saying “and me, your unworthy servant.”
Beneath Michelangelo’s frescoes, Leo prayed the prayers of the Mass in Latin. The two readings were delivered in English and Spanish. At the end of the liturgy, he led the cardinals in singing the Marian Easter hymn “Regina Caeli,” joined by the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel Choir.
The Vatican announced that Leo will be formally installed at a Mass on May 18 and will preside over his first general audience May 21. He is scheduled to deliver his first Regina Caeli blessing at noon on Sunday.
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
