Pope Leo XIV takes his first popemobile ride through St. Peter’s Square ahead of installation
The Hindu
Pope Leo XIV's historic installation ceremony as the first American pope draws tens of thousands to St. Peter's Square.
Pope Leo XIV took his first popemobile ride through St. Peter’s Square on Sunday (May 18, 2025), greeting the tens of thousands of people who joined presidents, patriarchs and princes for the formal installation ceremony of history’s first American pope that blends ancient ritual, evocative symbols and a nod to modern-day celebrity.
The bells of St. Peter’s Basilica tolled as Pope Leo waved from the back of the open-topped truck that looped slowly through the square and then up and down the boulevard to it.
The crowd cheered “Viva il Papa” and waved plenty of Peruvian, American and Holy See flags — representing Pope Leo’s nationalities — mixed in with flags of other nations, banners and umbrellas to shield pilgrims from the springtime sun.
The popemobile tour has become synonymous with the papacy’s global reach and mediatic draw, used at home and abroad to bring popes close to their flock. It was here that Francis took his last popemobile ride on Easter Sunday, and it was on the back of a popemobile that Francis’ casket was brought across Rome last month to its final resting place.
Security was tight as civil protection crews in neon uniforms funnelled pilgrims into quadrants in the piazza while priests hurried into St. Peter’s Basilica to get ready for the Mass.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, one of the last foreign officials to see Pope Francis before he died, paid his respects at the Argentine pope’s tomb upon arriving in Rome late on Saturday (May 17) and was heading the U.S. delegation honouring the Chicago-born Pope Leo.
Pope Leo — a 69-year-old Augustinian missionary elected May 8 after a 24-hour conclave who appears a bit more timid than Francis — smiled and waved from the truck as security guards jogged alongside.
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