The inauguration mass for the newly elected Pope Leo XIV will take place on Sunday, May 18, in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican has confirmed. World leaders are expected to attend the event, which comes 10 days after Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the first American pope, leading the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
Following the inauguration, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV would meet with journalists on Monday and with diplomats accredited to the Holy See on Friday. His first general audience will be held on Wednesday, May 21, and he will also meet with members of the Roman Curia, the Vatican’s top officials, on May 24.
Cardinal Prevost’s election as the first U.S. pontiff was declared on Thursday after white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling the conclusion of the fourth voting round during the papal conclave.