Pope Leo XIV.: All facts about the upcoming inauguration

The eyes of the world are aimed once more on the Vatican in a few days: On Sunday, May 18, 2025, the new Pope Leo XIV (69) will be ceremoniously introduced to his office on St. Peter’s Square. Preparations for this are already in full swing.

As the funeral of Pope Francis (1936-2025) – the Vatican expects hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world to flow to Rome to be inaugurated. Numerous heads of state and government as well as representatives of various religious communities have also announced their coming. Particularly noteworthy: The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I (85), will take part in the ceremony as well as Prince Edward (61) as ambassador for the British royal family.

The focus of the celebrations is the actual trade fair, which is scheduled at 10 a.m. in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. In this, the two most important Pope insignia are presented to the new head of the Catholic Church – the Wollene Pallium and the famous fishing ring. The pallium, a ring-shaped ribbon woven from lamb and sheep wool, which is worn above the measuring robe, is one of the Pope’s official official signs. The traditional enthronement, as it used to be common, was abolished in 1978. Instead, the simple liturgy emphasizes the spiritual dimension of the office.

A delegation of the cardinals will also step in front of the new Pope and ceremoniously vanish him. For gifts, the motet “Tu Es Pastor Ovium” created by the composer Pierluigi da Palestrina is sung especially for the Pope Inauguration. The ceremony traditionally ends with a solemn “Te Deum”. Around 200,000 people took part in the inauguration of Pope Francis in 2013. The then German delegation was cited by the then Chancellor Angela Merkel (70), the then Federal Council President Winfried Kretschmann (76) and the then President of the Bundestag Norbert Lammert (76).

Pope Leo XIV is the first native American on the Petri chair and also has Peruvian citizenship. His choice on May 8, 2025 fell on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War – a date that is considered a symbol of peace and reconciliation worldwide. Many observers see Leo XIV a bridge builder between the continents and cultures. He is in the tradition of his predecessor Francis (1936-2025).