What Pope Leo XIV talked about in his first sermons - On 11 May, the new Pope Leo XIV gave his first Sunday sermon. He took to the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica, blessed the tens of thousands of people gathered in the square and, following the example of the late Francis, called for a peaceful resolution to all military conflicts.

I, too, make an unwavering appeal to the world powers: let there never be war again! I call for a just peace for Ukraine, a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of Israeli hostages. I welcome the ceasefire between India and Pakistan and hope that we can soon reach a lasting agreement in the upcoming negotiations.

Pope Leo XIV

The conclave elected American Cardinal Robert Prevost as the new pope on 8 May - the second day of the secret ballot. The decision was made on the fourth attempt. Prévost chose the name Leo XIV and delivered his first homily during Mass in the Sistine Chapel on 9 May. He thanked the cardinals in English for their trust and then, already in Italian, delivered his homily.

The Church will be able to light up the dark nights of this world. We find ourselves in a context in which it is not easy to preach the Gospel when believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied. However, it is for this reason that our missionary work is desperately needed.

The enthronement ceremony of the new pope will take place on 18 May. Dozens of world leaders are expected to come to the Vatican. Thus, at the inauguration of Pope Francis in 2013 arrived about 130 foreign delegations, including Joe Biden and Cristina Fernandez, who at that time held the presidential posts in the United States and Argentina, respectively. Leo XIV has a busy schedule until 18 May, with meetings with cardinals and the media. He held his first press conference, which was attended by more than a thousand journalists from around the world, on 12 May. The Pontiff thanked reporters for the ‘long and tiring days’ of work during the conclave and reiterated the call for peace.

The new pope: what is known about Leo XIV

Robert Prevost is 69 years old and was born in Chicago. His father ran a school district (a consolidation of public schools in one area) and his mother worked as a librarian. He has two older brothers, Louis and John. They recall that as a child Robert liked to play priest, while others dreamed of being cowboys or bank robbers.

‘We often teased him, ‘La la la la, you're going to be pope.’ Boy, it feels like just yesterday I was pushing him down the stairs... And today he's already a pontiff! I think he'll be similar to Francis, but maybe he won't be as liberal. Won't ‘bend’ church rules so much.

Louis Prévost

older brother of Pope Leo XIV.

Robert Prévost studied at the seminary of the Order of St Augustine and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematical sciences from Villanova University in 1977. He was ordained a priest in 1982, appointed bishop of the Peruvian city of Chiclayo by Pope Francis in 2014, and elevated to the cardinalate in 2023. Leo XIV spent decades in Peru working as a missionary, so he has dual citizenship - Peru and the United States, respectively. By the way, until now, the American cardinal has never occupied the Holy See - except in the TV series ‘The Young Pope’, where Jude Law plays a pontiff born in the United States.

Art Purcaro

associate vice president for mission and ministry at Villanova University

I never saw Bob aspire to the papacy. I think he was just doing what he thought God was calling him to do. When he appeared on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, I thought a member of our family had appeared.

 Robert P. Hagan.

an American priest, has known Robert Prévost for 27 years.

That Robert Prévost had no plans to occupy the Holy See is also evidenced by his older brother John.

He told me on the phone: ‘No way, it's never going to happen.’ But then we got to, ‘Well, if that's what God wants, we'll deal with it.’

John Prevost

Pope Leo XIV's older brother

According to John Prevost, his brother watched Edward Berger's film ‘Conclave’ before the cardinals' meeting. Now that John can get the pope on the phone, he plans to ask what the pope will be doing to relax and unwind. The brothers used to regularly play the video games Wordle and Words With Friends (both for making up words). In addition, the new pontiff loves tennis (and considers himself an amateur tennis player), cheers for the Chicago White Sox baseball team, and follows Villanova college basketball and the professional New York Knicks. Upon learning this, Knicks head coach Tim Thibodeau joked that the club's players ‘can now be forgiven for their sins.’

How Leo XIV will lead the Catholic Church

Robert Prévost has been called a moderate supporter, progressive on many social issues. On 8 May, giving his first speech as pontiff, he spoke of a ‘synodal church’. This means that he intends to open the doors to all Catholics so that Church teachings and important changes are not discussed by bishops and priests alone. In doing so, Leo XIV emphasizes that unity is not uniformity. As a cardinal, he said that under the influence of Francis he realized that the church should be ‘open and hospitable’. In particular, the new pope favors the inclusion of laymen and women in the work of the church. Nevertheless, Leo XIV was ambivalent about allowing women to become deacons.

Like Pope Francis, Prévost has focused much of his attention on supporting disadvantaged groups and migrants: he has devoted three out of five posts on his X social media account since the beginning of the year to criticising US President Donald Trump's harsh immigration policies.