In just a few weeks, we have already received many lessons from the new Pope, Leo XIV. In the first few days, his words were carefully examined by everyone, in order to discern the keys and directions of his pontificate.

Where will the new pontiff lead the Church? We wanted to know. Well, Leo XIV himself has been quite explicit on this point. His first words, from the Vatican's central lodge on the day of his election, have been followed by clarifying interventions. 

We present here those first words, the homily at the Mass with the cardinals and the speech in the posterior meeting with them and, finally, the homily at the beginning of the Petrine ministry.

Like an echo of those of Christ on the day of his Resurrection, the words of the new Pope released the pent-up breath of everyone in the place From the Vatican (8-V-2022): “Peace be with you all! Dear brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who gave his life for the flock of God. I too would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families, all people, wherever you are, all nations, the whole earth. Peace be with you!”

It is not just any peace, but the peace of the Risen Christ: “a peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering,” which comes from God, who loves us all unconditionally. 

Like Francis, whom the new Pope evoked in his first blessing to Rome and the whole world, Leo XIV also wishes to bless and assure the world of God's blessing and love, and its need to follow Christ: 

“The world needs your light. Humanity needs it as a bridge to be reached by God and by his love. Help us too, and help each other to build bridges, with dialogue, with the meeting "Uniting together to be one people, always at peace. Thank you, Pope Francis!"

He thanked the cardinals for having elected him and proposed “to walk (…) as a united Church, always seeking peace, justice, always trying to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear, to proclaim the Gospel, to be missionaries.”

He declared as a son of St. Augustine: “With you I am a Christian and for you a bishop.” And he added: “In this sense, we can all walk together toward the homeland that God has prepared for us.” And he especially greeted the Church in Rome, which must be missionary, a bridge-builder, with arms open to all, like the place of Saint Peter.

He came to Rome from Chiclayo (Peru), where he spent eight years as bishop, and he remembers it – and is remembered there – with affection: “where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, have shared their faith and have given so much, so much to continue being the faithful Church of Jesus Christ.”

He expressed his desire to journey together, both in Chiclayo and in Rome. He concluded: "We want to be a synodal Church, a Church that journeys, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close, especially to those who suffer."
And he ended by invoking the Virgin of Pompeii, whose dedication was celebrated that day.

The day after his election (9-V-2025), the Pope celebrated the Pro Ecclesia Mass with the cardinals. 

In Christ - his homily emphasized - through his incarnation, the project of a mature and glorious humanity. “He has thus shown us a model of holy humanity that we can all imitate,” and at the same time “the promise of an eternal destiny” that in itself “surpasses all our limits and capacities.”

So on the one hand, the project Christian life is a gift from God and, on the other hand, a path that corresponds to man to allow himself to be transformed. These two dimensions come together in Peter's response: "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (Mt 16:16); and also in that of his successors at the head of the Church, "a beacon that lights up the nights of the world" ; and this, Leo XIV added, "not so much thanks to the magnificence of its Structures and the grandeur of its constructions – like the monuments in which we find ourselves – but because of the holiness of its members."

In response to Jesus' question—what do people say about the Son of Man? (Mt 16:13)—Pope Prevost suggested several possible answers (Jesus as a curious character to be watched, Jesus as a prophet…), then and today, in different languages.  

Christians, proposed Leo XIV, are called to bear witness to the faith like Peter, both at the level staff (through our daily conversion) as well as at the level of the Church, living that faith together and bringing it as Good News (cf. Lumen gentium , 1). 

At this point in his homily, the Pope recalled the example of St. Ignatius of Antioch on his way to Rome, only to be devoured by wild beasts in the circus. He wrote to the Roman Christians, speaking of his death: “ At that moment I will truly be a disciple of Christ, when the world will no longer see my body ” ( Letter to the Romans , IV, 1). 

This, Pope Leo XIV pointed out, represents the irrevocable commitment of anyone who exercises a ministry of authority in the Church: “ To disappear so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that He may be known and glorified (cf. Jn 3:30), spending oneself to the end so that no one may lack the opportunity to know and love Him .” 

And, applying it to himself in the form of a prayer, the Pope concluded: “ May God grant me this grace, today and always, with the financial aid of the tender intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church .”

On Saturday, May 10, Leo XIV held a meeting with the high school cardinal. In his brief speech , showed what he understands by the essence of his ministry: “ The Pope, from St. Peter to me, his unworthy successor, is a humble servant of God and of his brothers, and nothing more than this .” Because “ it is the Risen One, present among us, who protects and guide the Church ,” the “ holy People of God ” entrusted to us together with the Church to walk forward a mission statement of universal horizon.

In this regard, he proposed to renew together today " our full adherence to this path, to the path that the universal Church has been following for decades in the footsteps of the Second Vatican Council ."

He pointed out how Pope Francis has recalled and updated the content of the Council in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium (2013). And Leo XIV highlighted six fundamental notes in it: “ (1) the return to the primacy of Christ in the advertisement (cf. n. 11); (2) the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community (cf. n. 9); (3) growth in collegiality and synodality (cf. n. 33); (4) attention to the 'sensus fidei' (cf. nn. 119-120), especially in its most specific and inclusive forms, such as popular piety (cf. 123); (5) loving care for the weak and discarded (cf. n. 53); (6) courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its different components and realities (cf. n. 84, and pastoral const. Gaudium et spes, 1-2) ”.

Finally, he answered why he took the name Leo XIV: “ There are several reasons, but the main one is because Pope Leo XIII, with the historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum, addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution and today the Church offers everyone its heritage of social doctrine to respond to another industrial revolution and to the developments of artificial intelligence, which bring new challenges in the defense of human dignity, justice and work .”

And he concluded by evoking some words of Saint Paul VI at the beginning of his Petrine ministry. He hoped that “ a great flame of faith and love would pass over the world, illuminating all people of good will, paving the way for mutual partnership , and attracting to humanity the abundance of divine benevolence, the very power of God, without whose financial aid nothing is worth anything and nothing is holy ” (First Message to the Entire World, Qui fausto die, 22 June 1963).

Finally, the homily at the beginning of the Petrine ministry (18 May 2005) was based on the famous phrase of St. Augustine: “ You have made us for yourself, [Lord], and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you ” ( Confessions , 1, 1.1). The Successor of Peter confirmed that “ the Lord never abandons his people; he gathers them together when they are dispersed and cares for them 'as a shepherd cares for his flock' (Jer 31:10) ”.

The cardinals gathered in conclave hoped to elect a pastor capable of “ guarding the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking beyond, in order to address the questions, concerns, and challenges of today .”

And here is the result : “ I was chosen without any merit and, with fear and trepidation, I come to you as a brother who wants to become a servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, who wants us all united in a single family .”

Leo XIV emphasizes: “ Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission statement that Jesus entrusted to Peter .”

Now, the question is asked: “ How can Peter accomplish this task? ” And the answer is: “ The Gospel tells us that it is possible only because he has experienced in his own life the infinite and unconditional love of God, even in the hour of failure and denial .” 

Indeed, the fundamental mission statement To strengthen unity in faith and communion, which is characteristic of the successor of Peter, is based on the love that Jesus has offered him and the "extra" love that he asks of him in return. 

In his words: “Peter is entrusted with the task of 'loving even more' and of giving his life for the flock .” His Peter's ministry—he explained—must be characterized by this self-sacrificing love, which is the reason why the Church of Rome presides in charity, for it is from there that its authority derives. “ It is never a question of ensnaring others with submission, with religious propaganda, or with the means of power, but rather it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did .”

St. Peter –continued Leo XIV– affirms that Christ is the cornerstone (Acts 4:11) and that all Christians have been constituted “living stones” to build the edifice of the Church in fraternal communion, which the Holy Spirit builds as unity in the coexistence of differences. Again, a reference letter To Saint Augustine: “ All those who live in harmony with their brothers and love their neighbors are those who make up the Church” (Sermon 359, 9).

And the Pope directly expresses what he calls his “first great desire”: a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.” This is represented in the motto on his coat of arms, which quotation At this moment: “ In the one Christ we are one ” (Christians are one with Christ). A unity that wishes to extend to other religious paths and to all people of good will.
“ This is the missionary spirit that should inspire us, without confining ourselves to our small group or feeling superior to the world; we are called to offer God's love to all, so that unity may be realized, which does not erase differences but values the staff history of each person and the social and religious culture of each people .”

“ This is the hour of love! ” the Pope exclaimed. He summarized his message, concluding: “ With the light and power of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on the love of God and a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the Word, allows itself to be challenged by history, and becomes a leaven of concord for humanity .”