First days might yield clues to management model

[ad_1] Laura Gozzi BBC Information

Reporting fromVatican Metropolis <img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/7d71/live/d89ba540-2d09-11f0-a707-0f7cd5b25fc0.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/7d71/live/d89ba540-2d09-11f0-a707-0f7cd5b25fc0.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/7d71/live/d89ba540-2d09-11f0-a707-0f7cd5b25fc0.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/7d71/live/d89ba540-2d09-11f0-a707-0f7cd5b25fc0.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/7d71/live/d89ba540-2d09-11f0-a707-0f7cd5b25fc0.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/7d71/live/d89ba540-2d09-11f0-a707-0f7cd5b25fc0.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/7d71/live/d89ba540-2d09-11f0-a707-0f7cd5b25fc0.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/7d71/live/d89ba540-2d09-11f0-a707-0f7cd5b25fc0.png.webp" loading="eager" alt="EPA Pope Leo waves smoke towards some candles" class="sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe"/> EPA Not lengthy after greeting crowds from the balcony overlooking St Peter's Sq. on Thursday night, Pope Leo XIV returned to the Sant'Uffizio Palace, the place he had been residing for the final two months.

He was met by a jubilant group of workers and former colleagues, all desperate to shake his hand and congratulate him.

A younger woman handed him a Bible to bless and signal. "In fact, although I've to check out my new signature," Pope Leo stated with a smile. "The outdated one is of no use anymore."

He had solely stopped being Robert Francis Prevost a couple of hours earlier than, when he was elected pope. As he took on the title Leo XIV, a brand new life started for the 69-year-old Chicago-born cardinal.

However particulars on how Pope Leo will likely be trying to run the Catholic Church are nonetheless scarce, and so over the subsequent few days and weeks each small clue – from his apparel to his selection of lodging – will likely be examined.

Scrutiny started as quickly as he stepped on to the balcony, giving the gang a glimpse of the vestments he selected for his first look.

The gold cross round his neck that caught the night mild was seen as a primary signal he was departing from the simplicity of his predecessor's easy silver pendant; the embroidered stole and purple mozzetta cemented that impression.

From white smoke to a balcony speech, watch the moments that launched Pope Leo XIV as the brand new pontiff

Then, the truth that the homily he delivered to cardinals within the Sistine Chapel on Friday morning was scripted – somewhat than improvised – additionally despatched a sign that "Leo will likely be extra carefully aligned to custom than Francis was," stated Austen Ivereigh, a Catholic author and commentator.

However a number of occasions over the subsequent few days and weeks will give Pope Leo an extra probability to sketch out the priorities of his preach.

On Monday he is because of maintain an viewers with the media and on 18 Could he'll have a good time a solemn inaugural mass in St Peter's Sq..

As a part of that mass he'll ship a homily within the presence of quite a few heads of state and dignitaries.

In his 2013 inaugural homily, Pope Francis requested "all those that have positions of duty in financial, political and social life" to be "protectors of creation, of God's plan… of each other and of the setting".

In order that second may also present clues concerning the issues dearest to Pope Leo's coronary heart.

The brand new Pope's selection of lodging too will likely be vital.

Francis made the selection of selecting to reside within the easy Casa Santa Marta guesthouse, which was seen as revolutionary, however Leo might nicely determine to observe within the footsteps of nearly all his predecessors and reside within the grand Apostolic Palace.

"He was elected lower than a day in the past; let's give him time to determine," Vatican sources quoted by Italian media stated.

"These are all necessary decisions," Ivereigh added.

"Over the subsequent few days we'll be studying increasingly more about it – the primary week of the preach is a continuing revelation."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/7926/live/3a509d90-2d0a-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/7926/live/3a509d90-2d0a-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/7926/live/3a509d90-2d0a-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/7926/live/3a509d90-2d0a-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/7926/live/3a509d90-2d0a-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/7926/live/3a509d90-2d0a-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/7926/live/3a509d90-2d0a-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/7926/live/3a509d90-2d0a-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images Pope Francis greets USA Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost during the Mass on the Jubilee of The Armed Forces, Police and Security Personnel at St. Peter's Square on February 09, 2025" class="sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe"/> Getty Photos Cardinal Prevost shares a quiet second with Pope Francis (R) in February 2025

In the meantime, within the absence of particulars about his future as Leo XIV, fragments of the Pope's outdated life as Robert Prevost are rising from all over the world.

That is the case particularly in his native Chicago and his adopted homeland of Peru, of which he turned a citizen in 2015.

In a single picture, he's introduced with a big handmade birthday card written in Spanish and surrounded by muffins and balloons.

A video recorded when he left Peru for Rome, by which he says he would miss the "pleasure" of Peru and staples of native delicacies like ceviche, has been met with triumph by South American social media customers.

"The pope is Peruvian; God loves Peru," Peruvian President Dina Boluarte stated.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/45c2/live/8f377410-2d13-11f0-b3fa-b59af2bb4c6c.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/45c2/live/8f377410-2d13-11f0-b3fa-b59af2bb4c6c.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/45c2/live/8f377410-2d13-11f0-b3fa-b59af2bb4c6c.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/45c2/live/8f377410-2d13-11f0-b3fa-b59af2bb4c6c.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/45c2/live/8f377410-2d13-11f0-b3fa-b59af2bb4c6c.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/45c2/live/8f377410-2d13-11f0-b3fa-b59af2bb4c6c.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/45c2/live/8f377410-2d13-11f0-b3fa-b59af2bb4c6c.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/45c2/live/8f377410-2d13-11f0-b3fa-b59af2bb4c6c.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="tourists with newspapers in the vatican" class="sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe"/> American vacationers ambling in St Peter's Sq. on the day after the election had been extra restrained, and a bit frazzled by the information that the brand new Pope is from the US.

"I am nonetheless shocked they selected an American, to be sincere," stated Chicagoan Kerry, who's in Rome on her honeymoon.

She admitted she did not but know a lot concerning the new Pope however was happy by rumours that he's a fan of the White Sox baseball crew.

Requested how she thought Pope Leo felt at the moment, she laughed: "He should be actually overwhelmed; I guess he did not sleep a wink!"

Her husband Joseph agreed: "If you're elected Pope you come right here as a cardinal for the conclave however then issues by no means return to the best way they had been," he stated.