Grand Duke Henri is a guest when Pope Leo XIV is inaugurated.
Ten days after his election as the head of the Catholic Church, Leo XIV took his first bath in the crowd on St. Peter’s Square for the opening of his pontificate. Tens of thousands of believers and foreign heads, including the US Vice President JD Vance, but also Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, were present.
Cardinal Hollerich: Leo XIV will survive Trump
The solemn mass, which is rich in rites and symbols, began at 10 a.m. on St. Peter’s Square in Rome and was accompanied by severe security measures. It marks the official start of the Pontificate of the first American Pope in the two -thousand -year history of the Catholic Church.
Robert Francis Prevost, who was chosen on May 8 after a 24-hour conclave, received the papal emblems, the pallium, a strip of fabric that is worn above the measuring robe on this occasion, and the fishing ring, a ring that has become unusable after the death of every Pope.
Before the fair, the 69-year-old Pope, who had spent over 20 years in Peru, drove with the Papamobil to the believers, an exercise that also appreciated his predecessor Francis. Standing and smiling on board the papamobile, he greeted and blessed the amount that cheered him, some of which called his name and others waved the flags of their home countries.
Many believers were present on St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Photo: AFP
The US Vice President JD Vance – the last leading politician who met Pope Francis on April 20 on the eve of his death – is present together with Foreign Minister Marco Rubio. Both officials are enthusiastic Catholics.
The choice of Leo XIV born in Chicago triggered great enthusiasm in the USA, although he had opposed the anti-migration policy of the Trump government, especially on his now deleted X account.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and her Peruvian counter -colleague Dina Boluarte are also present. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the French Prime Minister François Bayrou, the Italian head of government Giorgia Meloni and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen are also on St. Peter’s Square.
On the side of the crowned heads, King and Queen Philippe and Mathilde of Belgium, Felipe VI and Letizia of Spain, Prince Edouard von Edinburgh, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and Prince Albert II of Monaco are present. Just like Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess.
Pope Leo XIV and his Caribbean origin
As with the funeral of Francis on April 26, the Italian authorities announced drastic security measures. 5,000 members of the police and 2,000 civil protection volunteers are in action in the Italian capital.
Sagitters, divers, air cover through the Air Force and Anti-drone inserts are also used.
This article first appeared at Virgule. Translation Marvin push.
