(ZENIT News / Roma, 05.25.2025).- On the evening of May 25, just hours before formally assuming his role as Bishop of Rome with his installation at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, Pope Leo XIV made a quiet yet symbolic gesture that spoke volumes: he paused not in a church, but at the civic threshold of the Eternal City.
Under the warm Roman sun, the American-born pontiff—whose missionary path led him from Peru to Peter’s Chair, and whose roots stretch across France, Spain, and Italy—walked across Piazza dell’Ara Coeli. There, standing beside a plexiglass lectern atop a red carpet emblazoned with the seal of Rome’s municipal authority, he was received not just as a pope, but as a Roman.
This brief civic homage, a centuries-old tradition, was more than a courtesy stop on the way to the Lateran Basilica. It was, as Mayor Roberto Gualtieri highlighted in his greeting, a visible confirmation of the Pope’s affection for the city he now shepherds. And Rome, the mayor added, “returns that affection with the generous spirit that you have already witnessed in these first days of your pontificate.”
The Pope stood alongside Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the secretary for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, as he addressed the gathered authorities with words of mutual respect and shared responsibility. “We are collaborators,” he said simply, “each within our respective institutions.”
For nearly two thousand years, the Church has preached the Gospel in Rome and lived its mission of charity. Yet Pope Leo’s brief address also pointed toward the future: a city that welcomes the world not only with its artistic and historical treasures, but also with values that flow from the Gospel—hospitality, solidarity, justice, and peace.
The pontiff emphasized the significance of the ongoing Jubilee of Hope, begun under Pope Francis and now continuing under his guidance. The Church’s mission, he reminded his listeners, extends to pilgrims from across the globe—and the work of Rome’s civic government is vital to ensuring they encounter not only the past but a living, welcoming present.
“May Rome,” he said, “renowned for the richness of its cultural and artistic legacy, shine just as brightly for its humanity and civic spirit, nourished by the Gospel.”
Mayor Gualtieri echoed that aspiration, describing Rome as a city poised at the crossroads of history and transformation. With the Jubilee year bringing massive logistical and spiritual undertakings—including a youth gathering this July 2025 expected to draw thousands—the city, he said, embraces both challenge and opportunity.
“Rome is ready to walk alongside you,” Gualtieri told the Pope, “to help shape a new paradigm in politics, in global relations, and in a more just and inclusive society.” He spoke of a city attuned to the needs of the vulnerable, committed to social equity, and open to redefining itself amid the sweeping changes brought by artificial intelligence and other technological revolutions.
In recalling Pope Leo XIV’s powerful call for peace—spoken not once but ten times—Gualtieri reminded all present of the profound bond between the universal vocation of the Church and Rome’s historic role as a crossroads of peoples and ideas. “Peace is Rome’s deepest calling,” he said.
After his civic visit, the Pope proceeded to the Lateran Basilica, the cathedral of Rome and mother of all churches, to formally take possession of his episcopal seat. There, as bishop among his people, he celebrated Mass with the faithful of his new diocese.
His evening concluded with a visit to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
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