May 15, 2025 // National

News Briefs: May 18, 2025

OSV NEWS

Pope Leo to Inaugurate His Papacy on May 18

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV will officially inaugurate his papacy with Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, May 18. Although he was pope from the moment he accepted his election on Thursday, May 8, the inauguration Mass, which replaced the papal coronation after the pontificate of St. Paul VI, formally marks the beginning of his ministry with his reception of the fisherman’s ring and his pallium, a wool band worn around his shoulders. In a separate statement, officials with the Vatican said the new pope has asked the heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia and the offices of Vatican City State to continue in their posts “on a provisional basis.” When Pope Francis died on April 21, and when any pope dies, most of the top Vatican officials lose their positions, giving the new pope a chance to appoint his team.

Pope Thanks Media, Urges Them to Be Peacemakers

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV asked journalists to be peacemakers by shunning prejudice and anger in their reporting, and he called for the release of journalists imprisoned for their work. “The suffering of these imprisoned journalists challenges the conscience of nations and the international community, calling on all of us to safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press,” the pope said on Monday, May 12. Not counting his meeting on Saturday, May 10, with the College of Cardinals, Pope Leo’s first special audience was reserved for members of the media who covered his election and the death of Pope Francis. “Thank you for the work you have done and continue to do in these days, which is truly a time of grace for the church,” he told the media representatives and staff of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication. He added: “You are at the forefront of reporting on conflicts and aspirations for peace, on situations of injustice and poverty, and on the silent work of so many people striving to create a better world. For this reason, I ask you to choose consciously and courageously the path of communication in favor of peace.”

Pope Leo Prays for Vocations, for Peace, and for Mothers

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – With a huge and festive crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV led his first Sunday recitation of the Regina Coeli prayer and urged all Catholics to pray for vocations, especially to the priesthood and religious life. Before the pope appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, May 11, the crowd was entertained by dozens of marching bands and folkloristic dance troupes who had marched into the square after attending an outdoor Mass for the Jubilee of Bands and Popular Entertainment. Pope Leo also noted that it was Mother’s Day in Italy, the United States, and elsewhere. “I send a special greeting to all mothers with a prayer for them and for those who are already in heaven,” he said. “Happy holiday to all moms!” Italian officials estimated 100,000 people were in St. Peter’s Square or on the surrounding streets to join the new pope for the midday prayer.

Pope Leo: A Pope Is Nothing More than a Humble Servant

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Catholic community is alive, beautiful, and strong, and it is up to its pastors to protect and nourish the faithful and to help bring God’s hope to the whole world, Pope Leo XIV said on Saturday, May 10, in his first formal speech to the College of Cardinals. The pope invited the cardinals “to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal Church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council,” and that “Pope Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth in the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), he said. He also said that he chose his name in homage to Pope Leo XIII, recognizing the need to renew Catholic social teaching to face today’s new industrial revolution and the developments of artificial intelligence “that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.” The pope met with members of the college, including non-electors, in the New Synod Hall at the Vatican. Pope Leo told the cardinals that after his “short talk with some reflections,” they would have “a sort of dialogue,” which many of them had asked for, “to hear from them about advice, suggestions, proposals, and other concrete things, which had already been discussed in the days leading up to the conclave.”

USCCB President Gives Thanks for Pope Leo

WASHINGTON, D.C. (USCCB) – Upon the news that the Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, has been elected as the 267th pope, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offered the following statement: “In communion with Catholics around the world, the bishops of the United States offer prayers of thanksgiving for the election of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. In my lifetime, the Church has been blessed with a series of popes each uniquely prepared for his particular moment in history yet sharing a common mission to proclaim the ageless truth of the Gospel. I rejoice in the international experience of the new Bishop of Rome who has been a student and superior in Rome, a bishop in Peru, and charged with the Dicastery for Bishops. Certainly, we rejoice that a son of this nation has been chosen by the cardinals, but we recognize that he now belongs to all Catholics and to all people of goodwill. His words advocating peace, unity, and missionary activity already indicate a path forward. Trusting in the Holy Spirit, we also pray that the Holy Father, as the successor of St. Peter, will enjoy serenity in his ministry and be a watchful and wise shepherd who will confirm us in our faith and fill the world with the hope inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Pope Leo’s Motto, Coat of Arms Pay Homage to St. Augustine

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV’s devotion to St. Augustine, his life and ministry as a member of the Augustinian order, and his focus on the unity of the Church are reflected in his episcopal motto and coat of arms. His episcopal motto is, “In Illo uno unum,” or literally “In the One, we are one.” Vatican News explained that the phrase is taken from St. Augustine’s “Exposition on Psalm 127,” where he explains that “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.” His shield, now topped by a miter instead of the red galero hat on the shield of cardinals, is divided diagonally into two. The upper half features a blue background with a white lily or fleur-de-lis, symbolizing the Virgin Mary, but also his French heritage. The lower half of the shield displays an image common to the religious orders named after and inspired by St. Augustine: a closed book with a heart pierced by an arrow. Officials from Vatican News said, “This is a direct reference to the conversion experience of St. Augustine himself, who described his personal encounter with God’s word using the phrase ‘Vulnerasti cor meum verbo tuo’ – ‘You have pierced my heart with your Word.’”

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass May 11, 2025, at the altar near the tomb of St. Peter’s in the grotto of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Father Alejandro Moral Anton, prior general of the Order of St. Augustine, was the principal concelebrant. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)