By Baraka Simba
Pope Leo XIV was formally inaugurated as the leader of the global Catholic Church on Sunday, May 18, 2025, during a solemn and deeply symbolic Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the Ring of the Fisherman by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
This ancient rite marks the official start of Pope Leo XIV’s Petrine Ministry, affirming his role as the 267th successor of Saint Peter. As he accepted the ring, a powerful emblem of papal authority and service, the square resounded with prayer and reverence.
“Pope Leo XIV presides at the Mass of Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry, and invites the Church to walk together along the path of God’s love and remain united in one family,” Vatican News reported.
With this call for unity and shared mission, Pope Leo XIV begins his papacy amid hopes of spiritual renewal, global solidarity, and unwavering faith.
When was Pope Leo XIV born?
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost on September 14, 1955) was elected in the May 2025 papal conclave as the successor to Pope Francis.
A United States citizen by birth, Leo XIV is the first pope to have been born in North America, the first to hold Peruvian citizenship (having been naturalized in 2015), the second pope from the Americas (after his predecessor Francis), and the first from the Order of Saint Augustine.
His papal name was inspired by Pope Leo XIII, who developed modern Catholic social teaching amid the Second Industrial Revolution.
Leo XIV believes the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, poses “new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor”.
