Around quarter of a million people are expected to pack into St Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Sunday to watch the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.
The event marks the start of the Pope’s term.
During the ceremony, the new pontiff is given the pallium and the fisherman’s ring as symbols of his new authority.
However, every pope is free to slightly tweak the ceremony to make it more personal.
Vatican watchers say these small details can give us clues about the man chosen to lead 1.4 billion Catholics.
For example, Pope Francis used an open-top jeep during his procession in 2013.
Here he made a conscious choice to abandon the bulletproof casing often favoured by his predecessor and get closer to the crowd.
His decision to stop the car so he could get down to greet babies and the sick was a glimpse of the characteristics which led many to later label him “the pope of the people”.
“That’s not [Leo’s] personality,” says Father Francesco Giordano, a professor of theology at the Catholic University of America in Rome. “Francis was more out there, Leo is more shy and reserved.”
Father Giordano describes the new pontiff as “warm, attentive and a good listener”.
He sees him as a blend of the previous popes, with charisma and emotional expressiveness like John Paul II, intellectual depth like Benedict XVI, and a focus on social issues like Francis.
Some of Pope Leo’s decisions in the last week seem to reinforce this idea.
When he was elected, he echoed Benedict in wearing the traditional red mozzetta – a short elbow-length cape – and moving into the Apostolic Palace, but he followed Francis in wearing his own black shoes rather than the traditional red slippers.
In doing the former, he returned to some of the traditions Francis broke with.
During his first speech on the balcony, Pope Leo talked about building bridges and Father Giordano believes he’s the perfect candidate to unite the church, as some conservatives who felt alienated by Francis will be reassured by the return to some of the traditional customs.
Sunday’s inauguration mass is also significant as the pope will give a homily – offering further clues as to the type of man he is.
This is the moment where Leo will outline his concerns for the future and how he will shape the role going forwards, according to Vatican journalist Marco Griego.
“This will be the first manifesto of the papacy where we will see the lines he will draw in the future; the themes – both religious and social,” he explains.
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Global conflict is one of the issues which may be touched upon.
In multiple statements since his election, Leo has raised concerns about the various wars being fought around the world.
In fact, “peace” was the first word he spoke to the public when he greeted them from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica after being elected last Thursday.
War has also been a hot topic in his social media posts.
“War is never inevitable,” he told his 18.6 million followers on X on Wednesday. “Weapons can and must fall silent, for they never solve problems but only intensify them.
“Those who sow peace will endure throughout history, not those who reap victims. Others are not enemies to hate but human beings with whom to speak.”
On the same day he offered “to help enemies meet”, and while a peace summit isn’t going to be hosted on the sidelines of the inauguration, it will bring together hundreds of high-powered delegates from around the world including US vice president JD Vance, US secretary of state Marco Rubio, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The astonishing picture of presidents Zelenskyy and Trump talking at Francis’s funeral shows how these solemn religious ceremonies are also huge global events where leaders meet on neutral ground.
“From a geopolitical perspective, being there is a display of power for the political leaders,” says Marco Griego. “Also, it’s a chance to make links or hold informal discussions, so it’s also a very important diplomatic meeting.”
It’s an opportunity some seem keen to make the most of. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s team confirmed he will be at the mass and said while in Rome, he’s hoping to meet other international leaders to discuss deepening trade, commerce, and cultural ties.
And as part of the inauguration event, pontiffs usually meet various delegations.
Vatican secretary of state Pietro Parolin told journalists a face-to-face meeting between the Pope and the US vice president on the sidelines of Leo’s inauguration on Sunday is a possibility – while stressing “the problem is that there are so many delegations, the timing is very tight and so it will be a matter of seeing if there is space”.
In 2013, Francis spent around an hour speaking to leaders after the mass and once again, Vatican watchers will be carefully analysing the interactions.
Before he became Pope Leo XIV, the then Cardinal Robert Prevost reposted articles which criticised Mr Vance and Mr Trump’s stance on immigration.
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In 2023, following violent anti-government protests in Peru that resulted in 49 deaths, he expressed “much sorrow and much pain” to Peruvian media.
He also urged Peru’s then president Alberto Fujimori to “personally ask forgiveness for the great injustices that were committed and for which he was prosecuted” in a 2017 public statement.
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However, Pope Leo’s supporters say he is a natural diplomat, who is considered and clear when he speaks – and will avoid any public fallout on such an important day.
Instead, Sunday’s inauguration is a chance for Pope Leo to set his agenda and build his relationships with both the public and those in power.
