Inaugural mass, first audiences … Léon XIV Beginning, Monday, a long series of meetings that will mark out its duties at the head of the Catholic church.
After the pomp and the popular enthusiasm that followed his election on May 8, Robert Francis Prevost will also have to settle more practical details, such as his place of residence or his first trip. The 267th Pope will receive on Monday, at 11 a.m., the international press in audience in the vast Paul VI room in the Vatican.
Friday, it will be the diplomatic corps to be received in audience. The Vatican, a smaller state in the world, is represented in other countries by an apostolic nuncio, the equivalent of an ambassador. In return, most states have an ambassador to the Vatican near the Holy See.
“Fisherman’s ring”
The solemn mass of its enthronement will be held on Sunday May 18, Place Saint-Pierre, a ceremony where foreign heads of state and government are usually present. During this celebration, he will receive the symbols of the papal power, from the imposition of the pallium to the delivery of the fisherman’s ring.
The pallium is a woven ornament of white wool, composed of two strips embroidered with six black crosses, which the pope and the bishops wear during large celebrations. The fisherman’s ring is another strong symbol of pontifical power, which used to seal the documents.
The following week will take place the first weekly audience of the 69 -year -old Pope on Wednesday May 21. The event will be held either Saint-Pierre Place, or in the Paul VI room, which can accommodate more than 6000 people. A meeting with the Roman Curia (the Vatican administration) and the employees is scheduled for Saturday 24.
Place of residence
We will have to wait until the next day, so Sunday, May 25, that the pope took possession of the Saint-Jean-de-Latran basilica, which is the cathedral of the eternal city. Leon XIV will thus symbolically take possession of the diocese of Rome.
The Pope also planned to go to the other Pontifical Basilica of Rome: Saint-Paul-Hors-les-Murs on Tuesday 20, and Sainte-Marie-Majeure (dedicated to the Virgin and where François is buried) on Sunday May 25 also.
He will also have to settle fairly quickly at his place of residence: will he decide to return to pontifical apartments, or not to move under the gold of the apostolic palace, like François who had preferred a modest apartment in the Sainte-Marthe residence?
First trip
Leon XIV will also have to stop the date and place of his first trip, very scrutinized insofar as he will give an indication of the direction he intends to give to his pontificate. His predecessor François had planned to go to Turkey at the end of May for the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, an important ecumenical event.
Other events, not planned, will undoubtedly be added to the program, as was the case during the past weekend. Léon XIV had a meeting with the Cardinals at the agenda on Saturday, and Sunday his first Sunday prayer since the Balcony of the Saint-Pierre Basilica, which was for him the opportunity to launch an appeal to peace.
But other stages were added to this program, including a visit on Saturday in Sainte-Marie-Majeure, where the pope gathered on the sober falling in François, who died on April 21 at the age of 88. Also on Saturday, the former prior of the Order of Saint-Augustin went for a private visit to an important Augustinian sanctuary southeast of Rome, Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Consil de Genazzano.
