The 69-year-old Augustinian missionary is offering a message of communion during an inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square before tens of thousands of people, presidents, patriarchs and princes.
In his homily, Leo said he wanted to be a servant to the faithful through the two dimensions of the papacy: love and unity.
He said: “I would like that our first great desire be for a united church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.” His call for unity was significant, given the polarization in the Catholic Church in the United States and beyond. (AP) PY PY