The pontiff led the Pro Ecclesia Mass with the cardinal electors. After speaking first in English, he read the text in Italian. Opening his missionary heart, he called on the faithful to joyfully bear witness in a world marked by “practical atheism", where faith has been replaced by "technology, money, success". Quoting Saint Ignatius, he said that those “who exercise a ministry of authority” should “move aside so that Christ may remain”.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Yesterday, in the Sistine Chapel, far from the eyes of the world, Card Robert Francis Prevost was elected pope, and took the name of Leo XIV. Today, before Michelangelo's judgment, he returned to preside over his first celebration, the Pro Ecclesia Mass, with the cardinal electors.

Ears strained to listen to the words of the homily, the first of the pontificate after those read last night from the balcony of St Peter's. Pope Leon XIV immediately opened his missionary heart, shaped by many years of service in Peru, in the "beloved diocese of Chiclayo" which he mentioned yesterday in Spanish after coming before the eyes of the world.

Even today his thoughts were for those “places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed”, where “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”.

Citing Pope Francis’s frequent references to joy, he said: “This is the world that has been entrusted to us, a world in which, [. . .], we are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Saviour.”

Pope Leo XIV entered the Sistine Chapel wearing the white papal vestments, holding the golden crozier. Walking along the central nave, he greeted the cardinals, imparting blessings with his right hand, in mid-air. The first reading (Rev 21:9b-14) was in English, while the second was in Spanish (1 Pt 2:4-9), languages favoured by the new pontiff.

The homily was in Italian, with the famous passage from Matthew, in which Jesus entrusts Peter with "the keys to the kingdom of heaven", giving him the mandate to "build" the Church, which the pontiff hoped to be "a beacon that illuminates the dark nights of the world.”

The text from the first successor of the apostles inspired the 267th pope during the homily. After briefly addressing the cardinals in English, he focused on the question that Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Mt 16:13). This “concerns an essential aspect of our ministry, namely, the world in which we live, with its limitations and its potential, its questions and its convictions.”

The pontiff underscored "two possible answers" to the question. The first is the one that comes from the "world".

The exchange between Jesus and the disciples takes place in Caesarea Philippi, "the place of cruel power plays and the scene of betrayals and infidelity,” he said. This refers to “a world that considers Jesus a completely insignificant person" and therefore does not hesitate “to reject and eliminate him.”

The second answer comes from the “ordinary people”, for whom, “ the Nazarene is not a charlatan, but an upright man, one who has courage,” Leo XIV said. Yet, while people follow him, “to them he is only a man, and therefore, in times of danger, during his passion, they too abandon him and depart disappointed.”

These two attitudes are reflected today, with ideas that may be different but are “essentially identical” in our day and age, in their specific human contexts. “Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent”. In these, “other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure.”

It is precisely in these contexts that it is hard to proclaim the Gospel, especially when those who believe “are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied.”

For the pontiff, born in Chicago, North America, but with a missionary past in South America where his predecessor hailed from, this is where the mission is needed more than anywhere else. Elsewhere, a “practical atheism” also sees Jesus as a “charismatic leader” or a “superman”.

Speaking about the words that Peter addressed to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16), the Pope stressed that they “expressed the patrimony that the Church, through the apostolic succession, has preserved, deepened and handed on for two thousand years.”

This has two aspects, namely “the gift of God and the path to follow in order to allow himself to be changed by that gift.”

Speaking of his magisterium that began yesterday, Pope Leo XIV said: "[God] has entrusted this treasure to me so that, with his help, I may be its faithful administrator”

Finally, quoting Saint Ignatius of Antioch, he emphasised the “indispensable commitment for all those in the Church who exercise a ministry of authority,” which is to “move aside so that Christ may remain”; spending oneself “to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.”

As he left the Sistine Chapel, the new pontiff received an applause from the cardinal electors and those present.

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