The day after his inauguration Mass, Pope Leo XIV had a closed-door meeting at the Vatican with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who gave him a Chicago Bears jersey and a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Launching his papacy with a call for reconciliation and communion, Pope Leo XIV formally began his ministry as the successor of St. Peter by calling for "a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world."

A pilgrimage organized by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) began with the promise of an audience with Pope Francis but ended with pilgrims being in Rome for the election of Pope Leo XIV.