Ritual, symbol and a popemobile tour mark Pope Leo XIV's installation Mass

Pope Leo XIV is officially opening his pontificate in a ceremony Sunday that blends ancient ritual evocative symbols and a nod to modern-day celebrity all in front of the presidents princes and tens of thousands of people expected to pack St Peter s Square to celebrate history s first American pope Leo will start the day by taking his first tour through the piazza in the popemobile The open-topped car has become synonymous with the papacy s global reach and mediatic draw used at home and abroad to bring popes close to their flock It was here that Pope Francis took his last popemobile ride on Easter Sunday and it was on the back of a modified popemobile that Francis casket was brought across Rome last month to its final resting place Leo the -year-old Chicago-born Augustinian missionary seems a bit more timid than Francis But all eyes will be on how he manages the throngs of pilgrims tourists and curiosity-seekers and the babies who will inevitably be passed up to him for him to bless After the festive population tour in the square Leo goes into the basilica to begin the solemn ceremony to inaugurate his ministry in a series of rites that emphasize the function that he s called to offer to lead the Catholic Church He prays first at the tomb of St Peter considered to be the first pope under the basilica s main altar and then processes out to St Peter s Square for the Mass Strict diplomatic protocol dictates the seating arrangements with both the United States and Peru getting front-row seats thanks to Leo s dual citizenship U S Vice President JD Vance a Catholic convert who tangled with Francis over the Trump administration s mass migrant deportation plans is leading the American delegation along with U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio Peruvian President Dina Boluarte is one of around a dozen heads of state attending including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy During the Mass Leo will receive the two potent symbols of the papacy the lambswool stole known as a pallium and the fisherman s ring The pallium draped across his shoulders symbolizes the pastor carrying his flock as the pope carries the faithful The ring which becomes Leo s official seal harks back to Jesus call to the apostle Peter to cast his fishing nets The other symbolically crucial moment of the Mass is the representational rite of obedience to Leo Whereas in the past all cardinals would vow obedience to the new pope more latest papal installations involve representatives of cardinals bishops priests deacons nuns married couples and young people participating in the rite In the days since his historic referendum Leo has already sketched out selected of his key priorities as pope emphasizing a message of peace so it s not known if he ll use his installation homily as a mission comment as various of his predecessors did In his Oct installation homily St John Paul II uttered a phrase that became something of a refrain of his pontificate and the ones that followed Be not afraid Open wide the doors to Christ Pope Benedict XVI quoted his predecessor during his installation homily on April and offered a meditation on the symbols of church unity represented by the pallium and fisherman s ring Francis installation homily on March focused on the need to protect the climate an early hint of what would become one of the priorities of his pontificate Pope Leo XIV May Pope Leo XIV calls for peace in Ukraine and Gaza and offers a Happy Mother's Day Pope Leo XIV May From the left and right US Catholics hope new pope fulfills their hopes Pope Leo XIV May Catholic Americans rejoice for Pope Leo XIV Leo has vowed all efforts to find peaceful ends to the wars in Ukraine Gaza and elsewhere But as a priority he has also identified the challenges to humanity posed by artificial intelligence making the parallel to the challenges to human dignity posed by the industrial revolution that were confronted by his namesake Pope Leo XIII who was pope from - After the homily and at the end of the Mass Leo will offer a final blessing and then go into the basilica to greet the heads of the more than official delegations attending Safeguard is expected to be tight as it was for Francis funeral on April which drew an estimated people Rome bureaucrats are planning for another on Sunday The piazza and main boulevard leading to it and two nearby piazzas have been set up with giant television screens and dozens of portable toilets have been erected in a nearby park Associated Press religion coverage receives backing through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content