Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost addressed his inaugural mass today in St Peter’s Square, marking the beginning of his papacy after he was elected as the new pope following the death of his predecessor, Pope Francis.

Echoing the principles of his predecessor, Pope Leo called for a stop to the marginalisation of the poor as he was formally sworn in as the 267th head of 1.4 billion Catholics all around the world.

“In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest,” the 69-year-old said at his inaugural mass.

In attendance were world leaders, including US Vice President JD Vance, Volodymyr Zelensky, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with tens of thousands of pilgrims who gathered to watch the new pontiff.

Header image: Pope Leo XIV waves after delivering the Regina Caeli prayer after a Holy Mass for the Beginning of his Pontificate, in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican on May 18. — AFP