Pope Leo XIV to hold his first mass as pontiff as Catholics around the world celebrate – live

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US cardinal Robert Francis Prevost chosen as new pope – video

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Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Pope Leo XIV’s first full day in office, during which he is expected to hold his first mass as leader of the Catholic church.

Robert Francis Prevost, the first US-born pope, will celebrate a private mass with cardinals at the Sistine Chapel on Friday at 11am (0900 GMT), during which he will deliver his much anticipated first homily as pope. It will be broadcast live.

The 69-year-old, who has spent much of his life in Peru, was elected by his fellow cardinals on Thursday during a secret conclave after the death of his predecessor, Pope Francis.

With the choice of Prevost, experts say, the cardinals opted for continuity with the late Francis, a progressive from Argentina who shook up the Church in his 12-year papacy.

“He is a moderate consensus candidate who fits into a soft continuity, a gentle continuity with Pope Francis, who will not alienate conservatives,” said Francois Mabille, a researcher at the Paris-based think tank IRIS and author of a book on Vatican strategy.

Here’s what you should know about the new pope:

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the choice of the name Leo was a “clear and deliberate” reference to the last pope named Leo. Leo XIII was elected in 1878 and was best known for his 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum, which outlined workers’ rights.
In his first comments after his election, Pope Leo XIV preached a message of “unity” and of “moving forward”. He said he wants this message of peace to “enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are.”
Many shared their excitement at having an American pope, and specifically a pope born in Chicago. City mayor Brandon Johnson tweeted “Everything dope, including the Pope, comes from Chicago” and former US president Barack Obama congratulated the “fellow Chicagoan” on social media.
The election of Prevost was also celebrated in Peru, where he has spent much of his life. Peru’s president, Dina Boluarte described him as a Peruvian “by choice and conviction”.
US president Donald Trump said he was “surprised” but that it is a “great honour” to have an American pope. Leaders from countries around the world also offered their congratulations.
An account on X widely believed to belong to the new pope shows him to be somewhat critical of the Trump administration. The account posted two articles that took issue with the stance by JD Vance, also a Catholic, on immigration. One article was headlined “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
Leo’s brother, John Prevost, told US media that Leo, was not afraid to speak his mind and that he was currently very unhappy with “what’s going on with immigration”. He told the New York Times: “I don’t think he’ll stay quiet for too long if he has something to say … I know he’s not happy with what’s going on with immigration. I know that for a fact.”
In a 2012 address to the world Synod of Bishops, the then Father Robert Francis Prevost appeared to criticise homosexuality. He said “Western mass media is extraordinarily effective in fostering within the general public enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel – for example abortion, homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia”.
Like his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo is also on the record as opposing the ordination of women. He told a 2023 synod that “clericalizing women” would not solve problems in the Catholic Church and might create new ones, according to the Catholic news agency.

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John Prevost, Pope Leo’s brother, has given an interview to the Associated Press in which at one point he realised he had missed several calls from the pontiff. The news agency writes:

He [John] gave the new pope a call back.

Leo told him he wasn’t interested in being part of the interview and after a brief message of congratulations and discussion in which they talked like any two brothers about travel arrangements, they hung up.

Continuing the interview, John told the AP that he expected his brother to be a “second Pope Francis”.

He’s not going to be real far left and he’s not going to be real far right … Kind of right down the middle.

John Prevost, brother of new Pope Leo XIV, holds a portrait of the three Prevost brothers from 1958 while answering reporters’ questions outside his home in New Lenox, Illinois.

Why choose the name Leo?

Catherine Pepinster

What’s in a name? When it comes to a pope – everything. The white smoke from the Sistine Chapel earlier this evening told the world that a new pope to succeed Francis had been elected – and for the first time the pontiff is from the US.

But if Donald Trump and his Catholic convert Veep, JD Vance, are ready to cheer, then they should think again. Cardinal Robert Prevost has chosen the name Leo XIV – and if you’re a papal Leo, you tend to be a reformer at the progressive end of Catholicism.

That Prevost has decided to become Leo XIV will make Catholics think immediately of the last Leo – Leo XIII – and his 1891 encyclical or teaching document, Rerum Novarum, which outlined workers’ rights to a fair wage, safe working conditions and the rights of workers to belong to trade unions.

If Pope Francis was the People’s Pope, then Leo XIV is all set to be the Workers’ Pope.

Opening summary

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Pope Leo XIV’s first full day in office, during which he is expected to hold his first mass as leader of the Catholic church.

The 69-year-old, who has spent much of his life in Peru, was elected by his fellow cardinals on Thursday during a secret conclave after the death of his predecessor, Pope Francis.

With the choice of Prevost, experts say, the cardinals opted for continuity with the late Francis, a progressive from Argentina who shook up the Church in his 12-year papacy.

Here’s what you should know about the new pope:

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the choice of the name Leo was a “clear and deliberate” reference to the last pope named Leo. Leo XIII was elected in 1878 and was best known for his 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum, which outlined workers’ rights.
In his first comments after his election, Pope Leo XIV preached a message of “unity” and of “moving forward”. He said he wants this message of peace to “enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are.”
Many shared their excitement at having an American pope, and specifically a pope born in Chicago. City mayor Brandon Johnson tweeted “Everything dope, including the Pope, comes from Chicago” and former US president Barack Obama congratulated the “fellow Chicagoan” on social media.
The election of Prevost was also celebrated in Peru, where he has spent much of his life. Peru’s president, Dina Boluarte described him as a Peruvian “by choice and conviction”.
US president Donald Trump said he was “surprised” but that it is a “great honour” to have an American pope. Leaders from countries around the world also offered their congratulations.
An account on X widely believed to belong to the new pope shows him to be somewhat critical of the Trump administration. The account posted two articles that took issue with the stance by JD Vance, also a Catholic, on immigration. One article was headlined “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
Leo’s brother, John Prevost, told US media that Leo, was not afraid to speak his mind and that he was currently very unhappy with “what’s going on with immigration”. He told the New York Times: “I don’t think he’ll stay quiet for too long if he has something to say … I know he’s not happy with what’s going on with immigration. I know that for a fact.”
In a 2012 address to the world Synod of Bishops, the then Father Robert Francis Prevost appeared to criticise homosexuality. He said “Western mass media is extraordinarily effective in fostering within the general public enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel – for example abortion, homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia”.
Like his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo is also on the record as opposing the ordination of women. He told a 2023 synod that “clericalizing women” would not solve problems in the Catholic Church and might create new ones, according to the Catholic news agency.