The Vatican has announced Friday, May 18 as the day for the inauguration of the new Pope Leo XIV. The announcement followed his election, on Thursday, by the Concave, the Catholic body responsible for electing a new leader of the over 1.4 billion faithful worldwide.
Pope Leo XIV was elected as the 267 leader of the Church following the demise of Pope Francis who died last month.
According to the Papacy, as the Catholic Headquarters in Rome is widely known, the new Pope will be officially inaugurated with a mass in St. Peter’s Square on May 18.
The ceremony will take place at 10:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) at the Vatican, the Vatican said today.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was announced as the first U.S. pontiff on Thursday after white smoke emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel following four rounds of voting in the papal conclave.
The Holy See said the new pope is set to keep Mr Francis’s top employees in the Vatican in place for the time being.
The first of his weekly general audiences is planned for May 21.
What To Know About Pope Leo XIV
The new pope was born in Chicago in 1955, according to Vatican News. His father is of French and Italian descent, while his mother is of Spanish descent.
Leo studied at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers. He went on to attend Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where he received a degree in mathematics. He later pursued his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
Pope Leo XIV appears on the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica after being chosen the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025.
Although the new pontiff is American, one of the most significant chapters of his ministry took place in Peru. Prevost served there for roughly two decades. He was appointed as Bishop of Chiclayo in 2014, promoted to archbishop in 2023, and then cardinal in the following year. Over the course of his career, he has also taught canon law, patristics and moral law.
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