Pope Francis Celebrates Inaugural Mass

Mar 19, 2013

Pope Francis has been formally installed as the head of the Roman Catholic Church after his inauguration mass at the Vatican. He called for the weak to be protected and world leaders were present. Several-hundred thousand people crowded into St. Peter’s Square to watch.

FOX News Radio’s Simon Owen reports:

From the start, Pope Francis doing things differently again.�Instead of the bullet-proof Pope-mobile, Francis travelling through the cheering crowd in an open-top all-white jeep.

In bright sunshine, he smiled and waved and kissed a baby, and climbed out of the car at one stage to bless a disabled man.

Among the congregation, Vice President Joe Biden, six Kings and Queens, and 31 Heads of State, including Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe.

Leaders of a many other faiths were also there, including the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew.

He’s the first Orthodox Patriarch to attend a Pope’s inauguration mass since the two branches of Christianity split more than 1,000 years ago.

Inside St. Peter’s Basilica before the service began, the Pope praying before the Tomb of St. Peter.�Before processing outside.�The procession chanting Christ is King in Latin.

(Pope Francis)

Before the mass began, the Pope was presented with the Papal Pallium, a woolen garment placed around his neck to symbolize his role as a shepherd.

The Pope also receiving the gold-plated silver fisherman’s ring, a symbol of the papacy.

Six Cardinals then approached the Pope to promise their obedience.

The mass was that of the solemnity of St. Joseph with readings from the Second Book of Samuel.

(Mass) “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus the lord speaks’.”

Also the singing of Psalm 88…

(Choirboy)

Including the line you are my Father, my God, the rock who saves me.

And a reading from Romans…�speaking of Abraham’s faith in God.

And then the Gospel Acclamation…�and the passage itself from the Gospel of Matthew telling the story of Jesus’s birth.

The Gospel sung in Greek and not repeated in Latin as on previous occasions. The Pope making a number of edits to make the mass more straight-forward.

The whole mass lasted around two hours, an hour shorter than Pope Benedict’s inauguration mass in 2005.

And then Pope Francis stepped forward, delivering his homily lasting around 15 minutes in Italian.

(Pope Francis)

He said his role will be one of service, and that he’ll be inspired by the lowly.�He called for people to respect animals, the environment, and their families.�And saying the weakest in society should be defended: The�elderly�and the poor, speaking about the last people we think about.

(Pope Francis)