Leo XIV: Petrine ministry is a cross and a blessing
The first U.S. pope makes his first public remarks in English.
Pope Leo XIV described the Petrine ministry as both a cross and a blessing as he celebrated the first Mass of his pontificate Friday in the Sistine Chapel, in the presence of the world’s cardinals.
The first U.S.-born pope opened his homily at the May 9 Mass with his first public remarks in English.
He said: “I’ll begin with a word in English and the rest is in Italian. But I want to repeat the words from the responsorial psalm, ‘I will sing a new song to the Lord, because he has done marvels.’”
“And indeed, not just with me but with all of us, my brother cardinals, as we celebrate this morning, I invite you to recognize the marvels that the Lord has done, the blessings that the Lord continues to pour out upon all of us.”
“Through the ministry of Peter, you have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission, and I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me as we continue as a Church, as a community of friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the Good News, to announce the Gospel.”
The Vatican watcher Rocco Palmo noted that as Pope Leo arrived at the Sistine Chapel the morning after his election he held a golden ferula, or pastoral staff, made for Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 and seldom used by Pope Francis, though he used it at his first Mass in the Sistine Chapel in 2013.
The customary first Mass with cardinals in the Sistine Chapel offers the new pope the chance to present the themes that will be at the heart of his pontificate.
Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, reflected in his homily on St. Peter the Apostle’s confession of faith in Jesus Christ in Matthew 16:13-19, presenting a strikingly Christological reflection at the start of his new ministry.
Switching smoothly from English into Italian, he said: “‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Mt 16:16). In these words, Peter, asked by the Master, together with the other disciples, about his faith in him, expressed the patrimony that the Church, through the apostolic succession, has preserved, deepened and handed on for 2,000 years.”
He continued: “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God: the one Savior, who alone reveals the face of the Father.”
“In him, God, in order to make himself close and accessible to men and women, revealed himself to us in the trusting eyes of a child, in the lively mind of a young person and in the mature features of a man, finally appearing to his disciples after the resurrection with his glorious body. He thus showed us a model of human holiness that we can all imitate, together with the promise of an eternal destiny that transcends all our limits and abilities.”
Standing in the chapel where he was elected May 8 as the 267th pope of the Catholic Church, Leo XIV said: “In a particular way, God has called me by your election to succeed the Prince of the Apostles, and has entrusted this treasure to me so that, with his help, I may be its faithful administrator for the sake of the entire mystical Body of the Church. He has done so in order that she may be ever more fully a city set on a hill, an ark of salvation sailing through the waters of history and a beacon that illumines the dark nights of this world.”
“And this, not so much through the magnificence of her structures or the grandeur of her buildings — like the monuments among which we find ourselves — but rather through the holiness of her members. For we are the people whom God has chosen as his own, so that we may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.”
Speaking against the backdrop of Michelangelo’s fresco of the Last Judgment, Pope Leo reflected on the question that Jesus had put to Peter: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
He said the Gospel highlighted two responses: that of the world, which coldly rejected him, and that of ordinary people, who initially welcomed him but saw him only as a man.
“What is striking about these two attitudes is their relevance today,” he observed. “They embody notions that we could easily find on the lips of many men and women in our own time, even if, while essentially identical, they are expressed in different language.”
“Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure.”
“These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised, or at best tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed.”
“A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family, and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”
“Today, too, there are many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman. This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism.”
Pope Leo went on: “This is the world that has been entrusted to us, a world in which, as Pope Francis taught us so many times, we are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Savior. Therefore, it is essential that we too repeat, with Peter: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
The pope said this confession of faith needed to be made both personally and collectively as a Church.
“I say this first of all to myself, as the Successor of Peter, as I begin my mission as Bishop of Rome and, according to the well-known expression of St. Ignatius of Antioch, am called to preside in charity over the universal Church,” he said.
“St. Ignatius, who was led in chains to this city, the place of his impending sacrifice, wrote to the Christians there: ‘Then I will truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world no longer sees my body.’”
“Ignatius was speaking about being devoured by wild beasts in the arena — and so it happened — but his words apply more generally to an indispensable commitment for all those in the Church who exercise a ministry of authority.”
“It is to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified, to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.”
The 69-year-old ended his homily — as he did his first greeting as pope — with a reference to the Virgin Mary.
“May God grant me this grace, today and always, through the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church,” he said.
The pope celebrated Mass at a free-standing altar, flanked by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, and accompanied by the singing of the Sistine Chapel Choir.
As he departed the chapel following the Mass, he was applauded by the cardinals and other members of the congregation.
The Holy See press office announced May 9 that Pope Leo had asked heads and secretaries of Vatican dicasteries to continue in their posts “donec aliter provideatur,” or for the time being.
“The Holy Father wishes, in fact, to reserve some time for reflection, prayer and dialogue, before any final appointment or confirmation,” it said.
Seems like a healthy perspective on the papacy. A man who sees it as wholly a cross may struggle to proclaim the Good News; a man who fails to recognize the weight of his responsibilities may sink into service of self. This homily has me cautiously hopeful.
This sounds like our new pope really believes that Jesus is the Lord. Like, really, really believes. I might be in love.