{"id":137873,"date":"2025-05-18T08:18:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T08:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/pope-leo-inauguration-live-new-pontiff-rides-popemobile-for-first-time-as-world-leaders-gather-at-vatican-sky-news\/"},"modified":"2025-05-18T08:18:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T08:18:57","slug":"pope-leo-inauguration-live-new-pontiff-rides-popemobile-for-first-time-as-world-leaders-gather-at-vatican-sky-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/pope-leo-inauguration-live-new-pontiff-rides-popemobile-for-first-time-as-world-leaders-gather-at-vatican-sky-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo inauguration live: New pontiff rides popemobile for first time – as world leaders gather at Vatican – Sky News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tens of thousands of well-wishers are gathering for Leo XIV’s inaugural mass at the Vatican, which will see him formally take up his role as leader of the global Catholic Church. Follow the latest here.
Sunday 18 May 2025 09:15, UK
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
After starting at the tomb of St Peter – Jesus’s disciple, on whose grave the Catholic Church is said to be built – the ecclesiastical procession is now making its way outside.
The Pope will be the last to leave St Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Leo’s first mass as pontiff is now under way.
We’ll provide text updates here – and you may also watch along in our live stream at the top of this page.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has taken her seat, along with Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also there, as we reported earlier, and US vice president JD Vance.
Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner beamed as he met Pope Leo in the Vatican this week.
The world number one presented the US pontiff, himself a keen tennis player, with a racket after being invited to the Vatican along with his parents and a delegation from the Italian Tennis Federation.
The two were pictured laughing as they held a racket each and Sinner, 23, also held a tennis ball.
But Leo declined a suggestion to go for a hit with the three-time grand slam winner, as he looked at the lights on the ceiling and said to laughter: “Better not.”
Leo joked earlier this week that he didn’t want to meet the world number one, at least not in a match.
Asked by a journalist if he would take part in a charity match, the 69-year-old appeared up for it, but cautioned: “Just don’t bring Sinner.”
The Pope described himself as “quite the amateur tennis player” in a 2023 interview published by the website of his Augustinian religious order.
It’s not uncommon for the Pope to bless people as he passes by crowds.
Moments ago, a Leo was seen lifting a baby shortly after arriving at the Vatican.
He also placed his hand on the head of another.
Pope Leo is expected to move in to the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace some time after his inaugural mass today.
The papal apartments occupy the top floor of the palace, a 16th century building that overlooks St Peter’s Square. They feature about 10 rooms, including a bedroom, private library and study, dining room, kitchen and chapel. 
The palace has not been lived in since February 2013, when Pope Benedict XVI moved out following his resignation as pontiff. 
Leo’s predecessor, the late Pope Francis, shunned the palace in favour of the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel, a facility near the city-state’s southern wall that houses visiting priests and other Vatican guests. 
He was the first pope since 1870 not to live in the Apostolic Palace as he was said to have preferred to live in a community setting for his “psychological health”. 
The late pope did however use the palace for his official meetings, and usually offered his weekly Sunday prayer from a window of the building. 
Pictures we’re seeing from the Vatican show the Pope “isn’t a distant leader”.
That’s the view of Father Chris Vipers, a Catholic priest at the canon of Westminster Cathedral.
Speaking to our presenter Anna Jones<\/b><\/a>, he said of the Pope greeting people at the Vatican: “What it says to me is that the Pope isn’t a distant leader, you know, sort of shut up in a palace a long way from people.
“The Pope is right there in the midst of us, walking with us, leading us, cheering us on as we cheer him.
“And I think we saw that with Pope Francis. We saw it on Easter Sunday, and in his frailty, he had to be there with the people… the people gave him life.”
He also said Leo’s smile shows the crowd’s joy has “got to him”.
“It’s infectious,” he added.
Pope Leo’s brothers John and Louie used to tease him that he’d be pontiff one day. 
It was a long-running joke, until the Chicago native was chosen to succeed Pope Francis this month.
So how did they react to the news?
“I asked him if he’d watched the Conclave movie,” John laughs.
Our team is set up at the Vatican, where Pope Leo has arrived for his inaugural mass.
We’re told by authorities that 250,000 people could come to watch the event
There are also said to be 200 delegates from around the world – including the US vice president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prince Edward.
Because of that, there’s a huge amount of security.
We understand this is a similar security operation to what we saw for Pope Francis’s funeral, with 6,000 extra police officers and thousands of volunteers.
A bomb squad is also in place, with snipers also deployed and anti-drone equipment. 
In an open-top popemobile, Leo has arrived at St Peter’s Square, where he’s greeting crowds of well-wishers.
He follows Pope Francis’s example here, who also abandoned bullet-proof protection.
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