Pope Leo XIV set the tone for his papacy on Sunday with a call to stop exploiting nature and marginalising the poor at a mass attended by world dignitaries including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance.
Ten days after Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost became the first US head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, an estimated 200,000 people gathered to see his inaugural mass in St Peter's Square.
The 69-year-old made his debut tour in a popemobile, smiling, waving energetically and blessing the cheering crowds at the Vatican.
In front of leaders including Zelensky and Vance, he then gave a homily where he called for the Church to be a transformational force in a world of division and hatred.
"In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth's resources and marginalises the poorest," he said.
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