No one knew how the new pope would appear on the balcony overlooking St Peter's Square. Would he wear a simple white cassock like Francis? Would he wear the red pontifical vestments like Benedict XVI? What would be the focus of his message?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 23 minutes past 7pm Rome time, the mystery was revealed: Pope Leo XIV appeared before the world, wearing traditional papal attire: the red mozzetta, a papal stole and gold pectoral cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The image recalled those of both Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and marked a very different image from Francis, who appeared wearing white and his own, personal pectoral cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He smiled shyly and, briefly, looked like he was trying to restrain his emotion. At one point it seemd he was having difficulty swallowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And from gestures to words. The first impression the pope gave was of a peaceful man, perhaps a little introverted, methodical and who thinks before he speaks; a clue to the disposition that Leo XIV might have when it comes to making decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Proof of this is that he had his first greeting prepared in writing. Each sentence seemed to be measured and to have a clear direction. The first one alone could be a preview of one of the programs of his pontificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He repeated the word \u201cpeace\u201d no less than ten times, and in different contexts. But this one stands out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the peace of the risen Christ, a peace that disarms, humble and persevering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leo XIV also mentioned his predecessor, Pope Francis. He recalled the moment when he was last seen in public: the same moment in which the new Pope now found himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the message of continuity, albeit with a new style different from Francis, could be heard with these phrases. He spoke of synodality, peace and charity, three pillars of his predecessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To all of you, brothers and sisters of Rome, of Italy, of the whole world, we want to be a synodal Church, a Church that walks, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close especially to those who suffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond speaking as the leader of the Church, he spoke as a pastor. He recalled his two dioceses, that of Rome, of which he is now bishop, and Chiclayo, in Peru, the country of which he is a national. In fact, he even spoke in Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if I may also say a word, a greeting to all those and in a particular way to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, have shared their faith and have given so much, so much to continue to be the faithful Church of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are the first brushstrokes of Leo XIV: the first American pope and the first Augustinian. A pontiff who, in his first appearance, made clear he is a missionary and desires to build bridges of peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pope Leo XIV appeared at St. Peter\u2019s Basilica in traditional papal attire, exuding calm and focus on peace. His first speech emphasized synodality, charity, and building bridges, including a heartfelt greeting to his former diocese in Peru.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":758,"featured_media":77264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"acf":{"video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/fIDIPzxlVUE","video_descarga":"https:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/banalisiprimodiscorsoeng.mp4","international_url":"https:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/banalisiprimodiscorsoint.mp4","type":"bn","newsletter":"si"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77263"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/758"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77263"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77273,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77263\/revisions\/77273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}