New Pope: Leo XIV warns of materialism

The new Pope Leo XIV, after his first Peace Appell, warned immediately after the election not only to seek fulfillment in material values. The first Pope in the history of the Catholic Church from the USA – with a bourgeois name Robert Francis Prevost – celebrated a trade fair in the Sistine chapel together with his previous co -cardinals. There he had been elected successor to the previous Pope Francis after four electoral groups.

The time of the empty chair – without a holy father – is over in the Vatican. However, this is still a phase of the transition. The 69-year-old decided to temporarily leave the previous heads of the important authorities and institutions of the State of the Church. He has not yet decided whether he wants to live in the Apostolic Palace like former popes. Francis had lived in a relatively modest apartment in the Vatican guest house in Santa Marta for twelve years.

Inauguration with a big trade fair on Sunday next week

On Sunday, Leo XIV wants to speak a prayer from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at noon. Many thousand people are expected to do this. The big fair for its inauguration should then be on Sunday next week, May 18th. For this purpose, state guests from all over the world are expected again on St. Peter’s Square – although not as many as at the funeral service for Francis, as US President Donald Trump and the Ukrainian head of state Wolodymyr Selenskyj.

First of all, Leo now stays in his apartment in the Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio, which belongs to the Vatican. Since his appointment in 2023 he has lived as head of the Vatican authority, which is responsible for all bishops worldwide. According to information from the Italian news agency Ansa, he wants to wait and see how the renovation work in the Apostolic Palace progresses. At the moment it is very much taken care of how he stands out in the appearance of Francis.

No personnel decisions yet: “Time for reflection”

The Vatican justified the decision to postpone the upcoming personnel decisions via important items by the fact that the new Pope wanted to use “a certain time for reflection, prayer and dialogue”. In the fair, Leo warned of “dramatic side effects” when belief in God wanks. “The fact that the meaning of life is lost, the mercy is forgotten, the dignity of man is violated in the most dramatic forms, the crisis of the family and many other wounds from which our society suffers not inconsiderably.”

Faith is considered something “absurd” today, something for “weak and less intelligent people”. He would be preferred to other things such as technology, money, success, power and pleasure. The figure of Jesus Christ is often only regarded as a “charismatic leader or over -human”. This is “factual atheism”, that is, godlessness.

Thanks to other cardinals

The first US pope in history turned to his previous co-cardinals in English before the start of his sermon before he went into Italian. They had called him to “carry the cross and be blessed with this task”. He knew that he could continue to count on her. Prevost had been part of the circle of possible new popes before the compliance began, but was by no means considered a top favorite.

Leo had been determined as the new head of 1.4 billion Catholics in less than 24 hours. In the evening, he held a first speech from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica of more than 100,000 people on St. Peter’s Square. His first sentence: “Peace is with all of you.” He received a lot of praise from the two German cardinals Reinhard Marx and Rainer Maria Woelki, who had a decision. The third German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who was entitled to vote, did not initially comment on.

Future course still open

The American Prevost is considered a man in the middle who does not shy away from critical words to politics. As one of the first, US President Donald Trump congratulated him, who spoke of a “great honor” for the USA. In the past, Prevost had criticized the Trump government’s course several times. Before his appointment as a cardinal, he worked as a missionary and bishop in Peru for many years. He also has Peruvian citizenship.

Leo XIV is the 267th Pontifex in two thousands of church history. It is eagerly awaited whether he will continue the cautious reform course of the Argentinian Francis. There are demands from conservative cardinals to return to a more traditional course. In Europe, the Catholic Church recently lost significantly to members, promoted by many abuse scandals. The number grows on other continents.