Pope Leo XIV formally began his papacy yesterday, 18th May, with an inauguration mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. World leaders, including Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, made the event that offered a rare platform for diverse – even adversarial – interests across the world to come together for a common purpose. The ascension of the 267th Catholic pontiff heralds a papacy dedicated to world peace, as Leo has made clear that would form his major agenda.
The new pope took to the world stage soon after his election on 8th May with the message of peace. He has his mission cut out. The church under his leadership, as he envisions, will play the conciliator in a world ridden with conflict and hatred. His first words to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square on the day he was elected pope were: “Peace be with all of you.” His utterances ever since echoed that theme.
In an audience a few days after his election with members of the eastern Catholic churches, many of them based in conflict-wracked places like Ukraine and the Middle East, Leo affirmed his personal commitment to pursuit of peace: “For my part, I will make every effort so that peace may prevail. The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face-to-face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve – the dignity of peace.” The pontiff urged global leaders to engage in diplomacy before resorting to combat. “War is never inevitable,” he said, adding: “Weapons can and must be silenced, for they do not resolve problems but only increase them. Those who make history are the peacemakers, not those who sow seeds of suffering.”
On his first Sunday as pope, Leo called for “authentic and lasting peace” in Ukraine; a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group, Hamas. He also welcomed the fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan – two nuclear-armed neighbours that recently took to war with each other over the disputed Kashmir region. His call resonated with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who spoke with the pontiff shortly after his election and is reported to be his first known conversation with a foreign leader as pope. Zelenskiy said the pope offered to facilitate peace talks as world leaders come to his inauguration mass. He welcomed the pontiff’s offer and gave assurance that Kyiv was open to all efforts to end his country’s war with Russia.
Writing on X social media platform, Zelenskiy also expressed gratitude to the pontiff for his “wise words about the Holy See’s willingness to play a mediatory role in restoring global peace.” He signalled his availability to engage with Russia at the highest level even at the pope’s inauguration mass. It was not certain, though, that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be available. Putin’s personal attendance at direct talks between Russia and Ukraine earlier arranged to hold in the coming weeks in Turkey remains doubtful despite that United States President Donald Trump and leaders of Europe have said they would join the parley. Reasons for Putin’s outing shyness are not often discussed, but it is noteworthy that an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court is pending against him and may advise caution about places he goes so the warrant is not executed on him by ambush.
It is to be seen if Pope Leo XIV can break the ice. But his papacy already promises significant inroads into the world’s knottiest tangles. The election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost – the first ever American pontiff – caught many off guard because he was not in reckoning ahead of the conclave at which a frontrunner dropped out of the race to endorse him. Conclaves are famously unpredictable, and the one through which the Chicago-born cardinal emerged as pontiff, taking Leo XIV as his papal name, was no less a surprise. Leo won the consensus of the 133 cardinal electors after four ballots – a fast process for a diverse college of cardinals.
Although his name had circulated among some Vatican watchers, there were other cardinals perceived as clear front-runners. These include Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s number two who would have been the first Italian in almost 50 years to become pontiff; and Luis Tagle, a Filipino cardinal who was looking to become the first Asian pope. Typically held two to three weeks after a former pope’s funeral, the conclave gathers the college of cardinals behind locked doors in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel where through prayer, reflection and secret balloting, they must reach a two-thirds majority to choose the new pope and Bishop of Rome.
Insider accounts of the workings of the latest conclave said until lunchtime on Thursday, 8th May, Cardinal Parolin was ahead with between 45 and 55 votes – a substantial number, but well short of the 89 votes he needed for a two-thirds majority. At that point, Cardinal Prevost had between 34 and 44 votes. But whereas Parolin struggled to grow his consensus during the first three rounds of voting, he suddenly stepped down from the race and endorsed Prevost, according to sources. An internal tussle in the Asian bloc between Luis Tagle and another cardinal, Pablo Virgilio David, cancelled out their chances; while a contender from Africa – the most conservative bloc – was never in the game for the conclave where the majority of cardinals were appointed by the late Pope Francis, a progressive pontiff.
Reports said Cardinal Prevost was able to draw support from across the groups making up the electors: moderate United States cardinals, South American cardinals and many European cardinals who coalesced around him. A leading Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, reported that he “attracted cross-party preferences, both ideologically and geographically.” The newspaper added: “In the conclave he was the least American of Americans: born in Chicago, he lived 20 years in Peru. As a man used to teamwork, Prevost appeared to many as the right man to make the papacy evolve into a more collegial form.”
Leo was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in September 2023, and his most recent office before the papacy was as head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, whereby he oversaw the selection of new bishops. Overall, he’s considered a centrist, but on many social issues he is seen as progressive, embracing marginalised groups like his predecessor, Francis, who championed the cause of migrants and the poor. But as cardinal, he opposed ordaining women as deacons, among others, and so was regarded as conservative on church doctrine. The new pope takes office at an uncertain time for the Catholic church and its 1.4 billion members, as it confronts whether to continue with Francis’ agenda of reforms or retreat into conservatism. Leo’s supporters, in the run-up to the conclave, pitched him as a “dignified middle-of-the-road” candidate. For his papacy, he will need to chart a path that preserves church doctrine while promoting expanded followership.
Among the trickiest manoeuvres of the new pope would be dealing with the leadership mood in his native country, the US. The first American pontiff, who advocates peace, is showing up at a time when an American president is, arguably, turning the world on its head. It is hard to believe the cardinal electors weren’t making some political statement, even if Leo’s office and duties supersede politics.
Trump preaches America First; Leo looks out for the world. Despite growing up in the US, he spent more than two decades in Peru where he became a naturalised citizen. He speaks multiple languages and, notably, spoke in Italian and Spanish in his first remarks as pontiff while not uttering a word of English. He also gave a shout out to his former diocese in Peru. Leo’s predecessor, Francis, was vocal in criticising Trump’s immigration policies and backed action to fight climate change; continuity of that leadership stance could set him on a collision course with Trump.
In short, there are now two towering American figures of great power bestriding the globe, but they couldn’t be more different in values and temperament.
