This weekly meeting is generally an opportunity for the pope to express themselves on the major subjects dominating international news.
Thursday evening, he had made his first public appearance immediately after his election since the Balcony of the Saint-Pierre Basilica in front of a jack in joy, speaking in Italian tinged with American accent and Spanish.
Where will he live?
In 2013, François had shocked part of the curia (the Vatican government) by deciding not to move under the gold of the apostolic palace, preferring a modest apartment to the Sainte-Marthe residence, within the Vatican, where he lived until his death.
Some criticisms, especially in the conservative camp, have accused him of having contributed with this choice to the desecration of the papal function and the establishment of a “Vatican bis”.
The question is therefore whether Leon XIV will follow the footsteps of François or will decide to return to pontifical apartments.
His first meeting with the press on Monday
The 267th Pope will receive the press in the vast Paul VICA in the Vatican room at 08:00 in the vast audience, where the general hearings of the Sovereign Pontiff are organized every Wednesday.
The L’Imblison Mass
The inauguration mass of the pontificate of the new Pope Léon XIV will take place on Sunday, May 18, Place Saint-Pierre, announced the Vatican on Friday.
-Many personalities from all over the world are expected for this event which will take place ten days after the election of Robert Francis Prevost as the first Pope of American origin and spiritual leader of some 1.4 billion Catholics.
The Vatican also specified all the commitments provided in the short term of Leon XIV.
The fisherman’s ring is another strong symbol of pontifical power, which used to seal the documents. It is made unusable after the death of each pope.
After this ceremony in Saint-Pierre, the pope should go the following days in the other pontifical basilicas of Rome: Saint-Paul-Hors-les-Murs, Saint Mary Major (dedicated to the Virgin and where François is buried), and finally Saint-Jean-de-Latran, cathedral of the eternal city where he will symbolically take possession of the diocese of Rome.
His first trip?
The choice of the destination of the Pope’s first trip will be observed with great attention, insofar as he will give an additional indication on the direction he intends to give to his pontificate.
His predecessor François had planned to go to Turkey at the end of May for the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, an important ecumenical event. Leon XIV could therefore decide to make his first trip abroad.
In 2013, François had surprised by choosing the small Italian island of Lampedusa as the first trip, the gateway to African migrants in Europe, where he had castigated “the globalization of indifference”. The defense of migrants was then one of the pillars of his pontificate.
