VATICAN CITY: Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV on Thursday (May 8) after cardinals from around the globe chose him to be the first leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics to hail from the United States.
Tens of thousands of well-wishers cheered as Pope Leo, successor to the late Pope Francis, appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to deliver the first address of his ministry.
“To all people, wherever they are, to all peoples, to the whole Earth, peace be with you,” a smiling Pope Leo told the crowd.
“Help us, and each other, to build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, to come together as one people, always in peace.”
Pope Leo’s speech drew warm applause, especially a section where the prelate, who spent many years in Peru, broke into Spanish, and also when he paid tribute to his popular predecessor, who died last month.
“We still keep in our ears that weak, but always courageous, voice of Pope Francis blessing Rome,” he said, referring to the ailing Argentine’s Easter Sunday address, a day before his death.
“We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges, which holds dialogues, which is always open,” he said.
