World gathers for historic inaugural mass of first American pope, Leo XIV

An estimated 250,000 pilgrims and an impressive array of global dignitaries, including US Vice-President JD Vance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Canadian PM Mark Carney, and Britain’s Prince Edward, are converging on St Peter’s Square to witness the historic inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV—the first-ever American to lead the Roman Catholic Church.

The service, commencing Sunday at 10am local time, marks the formal beginning of Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost’s papacy, following his swift election earlier this month in a conclave lasting less than 26 hours. Prevost, 69, succeeds the late Pope Francis.

Heads of state attending include Israel’s Isaac Herzog, Argentina’s Javier Milei, and Australia’s Anthony Albanese. As tradition dictates, Pope Leo XIV will greet the massive crowd from his popemobile before entering St Peter’s Basilica with a cardinal procession. There, he’ll receive two powerful symbols of papal authority: the fisherman’s ring—representing the start and end of a pope’s reign—and the woolen pallium, draped over his shoulders to signify his shepherd role.

JD Vance, a Catholic convert and known political conservative, had previously clashed with Prevost, who once criticized Trump-era immigration policies and reshared an op-ed challenging Vance’s interpretation of Christian love.

Despite backlash from far-right voices like Laura Loomer calling him “a Marxist,” Pope Leo XIV will continue his digital outreach via the @Pontifex handle across nine languages and 52 million followers.