Vatican City. Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pontiff in history, said Friday that his election was both a cross to bear and a blessing as he celebrated his first Mass as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Speaking off-the-cuff in English in the Sistine Chapel, Leo addressed the cardinals who elected him as successor to Pope Francis, who placed social justice at the heart of his papacy. Leo acknowledged the weight of responsibility entrusted to him before delivering a brief but dense homily on the need to spread Christianity with joy in a world that often ridicules it.

"You have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission, and I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me as we continue as a church, as a community, as friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the good news, to announce the Gospel," he said.

The Mass took place in the same frescoed chapel where Leo, Chicago-born Augustinian missionary Robert Prevost, was elected Thursday as the 267th pope. His election broke a long-standing informal taboo against choosing an American, given the geopolitical power of the United States.

The Vatican said Leo will be formally installed at a Mass on May 18 and will preside over his first general audience on May 21. In the meantime, he asked all Vatican officials, whose positions technically lapsed upon Francis’ death on April 21, to remain in their posts pending his decisions on confirmations.

Signals of His Priorities

Two women read Scripture at the start of the Mass, perhaps a signal of Leo’s intention to continue Francis’ focus on expanding women's roles in the Church. As a cardinal, Leo implemented one of Francis’ most significant reforms by appointing three women to the Vatican board that vets bishop nominations.

Speaking later in near-fluent Italian, Leo lamented that Christianity is often "considered absurd," mocked, or ignored amid modern temptations of wealth, success, and power. He said even some baptized Christians misunderstand Jesus, reducing him to a “charismatic leader or superman.”

"This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism," he said. "A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family, and so many other wounds that afflict our society."

As the Mass ended, the cardinals applauded. Leo wore simple black shoes, avoiding the red papal loafers favored by some of his predecessors. In another break from tradition, he spent his first night as pope in his residence at the Sant'Uffizio Palace, not in the Apostolic Palace, according to Vatican News. Pope Francis also chose to live outside the traditional papal quarters, opting for the Santa Marta guesthouse.

Francis Saw Him as a Successor

Francis, the first Latin American pope, clearly saw Prevost as a successor. In 2014, he sent Prevost to lead a troubled diocese in Peru. In 2023, Francis brought him to the Vatican as head of the Dicastery for Bishops, one of the most influential roles in Church governance.

Though low-profile in Rome, Prevost was respected by colleagues and known among the cardinals who mattered.

"Even the bishops of Peru called him the saint, the saint of the north, and he had time for everyone," said the Rev. Alexander Lam, an Augustinian friar from Peru.

An Augustinian Legacy

The last pope to take the name Leo was an Italian who led the church from 1878 to 1903. Leo XIII softened the church’s confrontational stance toward modernity, especially science and politics, and laid the foundation for modern Catholic social thought. His most famous encyclical, a high-level papal teaching, addressed workers’ rights and capitalism at the beginning of the industrial revolution and was highlighted by the Vatican in explaining the new pope’s choice of name.

Although Vatican News called Leo XIV the first Augustinian pope, Leo XIII had strong ties to the order, restoring an Augustinian church and convent near his hometown.

Observers say Leo XIV’s choice of name suggests continuity with Francis' priorities, particularly attention to laypeople and inclusion.

"He is continuing a lot of Francis' ministry," said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, chair of religious studies at Manhattan College in the Bronx. She said Leo’s election could reshape American Catholicism’s image in Rome, amid divisions between conservatives and progressives.

"I think it is going to be exciting to see a different kind of American Catholicism in Rome," she said.

In a 2023 interview with Vatican News, Leo described Church polarization as a wound that must be healed.

"Divisions and polemics in the Church do not help anything," he said. "We bishops especially must accelerate this movement toward unity, toward communion in the Church."

He also said the inclusion of women in the bishop-nomination process had enriched the Church, and he reaffirmed the need for greater lay involvement.

Leo’s brother, John Prevost, was so shocked by the news of his election that he missed several phone calls from the new pope during an AP interview Thursday.

John described his brother, an avid Wordle player, as deeply concerned for the poor and voiceless. “He’s not going to be really far left and he’s not going to be really far right,” he said. “Kind of right down the middle.”

Looking Ahead

In his first hours as pope, Leo returned to his former apartment to visit colleagues, according to selfies shared on social media. Vatican Media showed him praying in the Pauline Chapel moments after his election, before stepping onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to greet the world.

On Sunday, he will deliver his first noon blessing from the loggia and is scheduled to meet with the media on Monday in the Vatican auditorium.

His first foreign trip could come as early as late May. Francis had planned to visit Turkey to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea—a pivotal moment in Christian history and a key event in Catholic-Orthodox relations.