CNS photo/Lola Gomez
With a huge and festive crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV led his first Sunday recitation of the "Regina Coeli" prayer and urged all Catholics to pray for vocations, especially to the priesthood and religious life.
Full text of the first public homily of Pope Leo XIV, given at a Mass for the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel May 9, 2025.
At Mass before the conclave that will elect the next pope, the dean of the College of Cardinals urged his brothers to choose the shepherd the church and all of humanity need "at this difficult and complex and tormented" turning point in history.
On the final day of official mourning for the death of Pope Francis, the late pontiff was remembered as someone who was determined to live out the mission entrusted to him and serve others, even when his health deteriorated.