Stocker travels to the inauguration of Pope Leo

Pope Leo XIV will be officially inaugurated as the head of the Roman Catholic Church next Sunday (May 18). The service will take place at 10:00 AM in St. Peter's Square. The state delegation from Austria is led by Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP). The local Catholic Church is represented, among others, by the chairman of the Bishops' Conference, Salzburg's Archbishop Franz Lackner, and the Bishop of Graz, Wilhelm Krautwaschl.

Bell ringing at the start of the inauguration

In Austria, church bells will ring for 15 minutes at the start of the inauguration at 10:00 AM. During a ceremony at the tomb of St. Peter under St. Peter's Basilica, Leo XIV will receive the papal insignia: the woolen pallium, a white wool stole embroidered with red crosses, and the fisherman's ring made especially for him. The ring of Pope Francis was destroyed some time after his death.

As with Leo XIV's first midday prayer on May 11, more than 100,000 people are expected to attend the mass on Sunday, according to the Vatican. Dozens of heads of state and government will travel, as well as representatives of the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches and other religious communities from around the world. The inauguration ceremony usually also includes the ten heads of the Catholic Eastern Churches. Around 130 delegations came to Rome for the inauguration of Pope Francis in March 2013, including about 30 heads of state.

There is anticipation as to whether US President Donald Trump will personally fly to Rome. The native American Leo XIV had distanced himself from certain positions of the US President through messages on social networks before his election.

A first with Pope Leo

Robert Francis Prevost (69) was elected as the head of approximately 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide on Thursday. The long-time leader of the Augustinian Order is the first native American in the papal office; additionally, he holds Peruvian citizenship. Under his predecessor Francis, he led the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops. From 2015 to early 2023, he was the diocesan bishop of Chiclayo in Peru.

The inauguration mass is the most important ceremony among the liturgies for a new pope. The previously customary additional ceremony of the pope's enthronement was abolished by short-term Pope John Paul I (1978). In its place is the first mass with the cardinals, which the pope already celebrated the day after his election.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.