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The fisherman's ring — the pope's signet — is seen on the right hand of Pope Benedict XVI as he celebrates Mass in Havana, Cuba, March 28, 2012. When a pope dies or resigns the ring is destroyed in a special ceremony, usually carried out in private. (CNS/Catholic Press Photo/Alessia Giuliani)

Inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV: An explainer of symbols and rituals

Vatican

On Sunday morning, May 18, a Mass for the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV will take place in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Although the Mass is no longer described as an "enthronement," it is full of rich symbolism.

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Silence: Longing to share the unspeakable

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Early reactions to Pope Leo XIV may mislead or distort understanding

Michael Sean Winters
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Your letters: 'Pope' Trump, sex abuse and 'America Week'

NCR Staff

Editors' Choice

Focus

In Focus

The pope from Chicago backed Pope Francis' major church reforms

The challenges for the Catholic Church in Chicago, where Robert Prevost grew up, are a microcosm of the gargantuan problems facing the worldwide Catholic Church that the new Pope Leo XIV must address.

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Most Read Stories

Vice President JD Vance speaks before swearing in Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Guest Voices

#1
JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others

In a viral Fox News interview, the vice president suggested that it is more Christian to prioritize your family over a stranger, but Jesus wanted us to demolish the categories that keep us from seeing each other as worthy of love in the first place.

ByKat Armas
U.S.-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, leaves the Vatican Synod Hall April 22, 2025, after the first general congregation of the College of Cardinals. (CNS/Vatican Media)

#2
The first American pope? This cardinal has the best chance of making history in this conclave

It is typically absurd to think of an American as pope. But in this conclave, a Chicago-born Augustinian friar who has spent much of his life outside of the United States is worthy of serious consideration.

ByChristopher White
Newly elected Pope Leone XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

#3
Prevost is new pope, an American cardinal committed to the reforms Pope Francis began

Augustinian Cardinal Robert Prevost was the least American among the American cardinals, having spent most of his ministry in Peru and Rome. The cardinals clearly wanted someone committed to Pope Francis' reform agenda and someone with a demonstrated record for effective management.

ByMichael Sean Winters

#4
White smoke, Black pope? Genealogist says Leo XIV has Louisiana African roots

#5
HABEMUS PAPAM: Leo XIV is 1st US pope chosen to lead Catholic Church

#6
The pope from Chicago backed Pope Francis' major church reforms

Opinion

Your letters: 'Pope' Trump, sex abuse and 'America Week'

Letters to the Editor

Early reactions to Pope Leo XIV may mislead or distort understanding

NCR Voices
Someone holds a placard with an image of Pope Leo XIV on the day of a Mass at the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Chiclayo in Peru May 10, 2025, celebrating the election of Pope Leo XIV May 8 at the Vatican. The new pope was bishop of Chiclayo between 2015 and 2023. (OSV News/Reuters/Sebastian Castaneda)

Can Pope Leo XIV be a compassionate pastor and a hard-nosed administrator?

Guest Voices

Fr. Thomas Reese used to be certain no American would be elected pope. Now, he admits, he has been proved wrong with this new American — and Peruvian — pope, and speculates: What kind of pope will Leo XIV be?

Will Pope Leo XIV make the call on women deacons?

Guest Voices

Grassroots nonviolence among 20th century's greatest inventions, says Bill McKibben

Leo XIII, who served as pope 1878-1903, is depicted in a window at Holy Family Church in Mitchell, South Dakota, in a 1999 file photo. His 1891 encyclical on labor, Rerum Novarum, marks the start of modern Catholic social teaching. (CNS/Crosiers)

Lessons for Leo XIV from his predecessor Leo XIII

NCR Voices

We now know why Pope Leo XIV chose the name he did. 

Vatican

The fisherman's ring — the pope's signet — is seen on the right hand of Pope Benedict XVI as he celebrates Mass in Havana, Cuba, March 28, 2012. When a pope dies or resigns the ring is destroyed in a special ceremony, usually carried out in private. (CNS/Catholic Press Photo/Alessia Giuliani)

Inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV: An explainer of symbols and rituals

On Sunday morning, May 18, a Mass for the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV will take place in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Although the Mass is no longer described as an "enthronement," it is full of rich symbolism.

Pope meets Sinner: No. 1 player gives tennis fan Pope Leo XIV racket on Italian Open off day

The top-ranked tennis player visited the new pope on Wednesday, gave him a tennis racket and offered to play, during an off day for Sinner at the Italian Open.

ByNicole Winfield, Andrew Dampf, Associated Press

Those who've worked with Pope Leo XIV are optimistic he'll elevate women's roles — with limits

The women who have worked closely with Pope Leo XIV in recent years have praised his leadership style, ability to listen and respect for their opinions. In interviews with The Associated Press, they say they expect that as pope, Leo will continue to promote women in church governance positions, albeit with limits.

ByNicole Winfield, Associated Press
ope Leo XIV greets a woman in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican May 12, 2025, during a meeting with representatives of the media who covered his election. (OSV News photo/Vatican Media)

Pope Leo XIV and the abuse crisis: What happens next?

In the first week of Leo pontificate, the leading expert on the abuse crisis — as well as several survivors and victims of abuse — has come to the defense of the newly elected Roman pontiff after two organizations advocating for victims of abuse raised concerns regarding Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost's record on the matter not long after he was elected.

ByPaulina Guzik, Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

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Jerusalem patriarch, back in Holy Land, reflects on conclave, 'inconceivable' Gaza situation

Peru's Augustinian friars remember 'Monsignor Roberto' as defender of 'those who have nothing'

Rock formations are seen along Lake Powell in Page, Arizona, on Nov. 23, 2024. The late Pope Francis released his landmark environmental encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home" 10 years ago May 24, 2015. (OSV News/Bob Roller)
Viewpoints

I'm still waiting for the US church to have an 'ecological conversion'

On this 10th anniversary of one of the most extraordinary documents in the church's history, we need to revisit Laudato Si' and heed Pope Francis' call for an integral ecology and better stewardship of creation as a moral imperative.

Pope Leo XIV speaks with the College of Cardinals in the New Synod Hall at the Vatican May 10, 2025, during his first formal address to the college since his election May 8. (CNS/Vatican Media)
Justice

What Pope Leo means for global climate action and colonialism

 As the Trump administration dismantles climate action and cuts funding to Indigenous peoples around the world — and far-right politics continues to rise globally — experts see the conclave's selection of Robert Francis Prevost, or Pope Leo XIV as he is now known, as a clear beacon that the faith-based climate justice movement his predecessor led isn't going anywhere.

ByAnita Hofschneider, Ayurella Horn-Muller , Grist
Members of the Native American coalition Apache Stronghold protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington Sept. 11, 2024, the day the coalition filed an appeal asking the high court to overturn a federal appeals court ruling allowing development of a copper mine in Oak Flat, Ariz., on a site Native Americans consider sacred. (OSV News/Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw)

Federal court pauses transfer of Oak Flat sacred site to mining company

A federal judge paused a land transfer of 2,400 acres — including the centuries-old Western Apache sacred site, Oak Flat — to a mining company while the Supreme Court considers a separate appeal on religious protection grounds.

ByBrian Roewe

'Leo will follow Francis.' Amazon Catholics hope the new pope will protect the rain forest

Clergymen and faithful in the Amazon region see Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, who spent about two decades in Peru's countryside, as a pontiff who will protect the region and fight against climate change.

ByMauricio Savarese, Steven Grattan, Associated Press

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Environment prize winner's journey to protect river began in remote Amazon parish

Before he was pope, Leo XIV said it's time for action on climate change

These cardinals will likely consider the climate when casting votes for the next pope

Culture

Francis: The pope who left a fingerprint on pop culture

The culture’s fascination with Francis’ papacy indicated a hunger for the simplicity and humility he projected. It was an antidote we craved.

"Cross in the Mountains," by Caspar David Friedrich (Artvee)

At the Met, Caspar David Friedrich exhibit highlights nature-based mysticism

"The Soul of Nature" is the first thorough survey of Caspar David Friedrich's career to be staged in the United States, and is currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 11.

ByMichael Centore

Now 'Francis' belongs to the pages

The real Pope Francis will be the focus of many official and scholarly examinations, but Francis and the other characters in the comic strip will also have a place among other beloved cartoon characters that live forever.

ByPat Marrin

Martin Scorsese and Pope Francis teamed to produce a documentary called 'Aldeas — A New Story'

Martin Scorsese is producing a documentary made with Pope Francis that will chronicle the late pontiff's work with cinema in the global educational movement he founded before his death.

ByJake Coyle, Associated Press

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Book Reviews

'Bending Toward Justice' raises a prophetic call for synodality and community

A lone bench on patchy grass overlooking a cloudy sky with patches of sunshine shining through.
Columns

Silence: Longing to share the unspeakable

 "In a world that too often devalues women's wisdom unless it is loud or marketable, I claim the power of quiet witness," writes Sr. Nodelyn Abayan on the power and depth of silence.

Graphic: Pope Leo on map

'A pope for the world': Sisters around the globe share hopes for Leo XIV's papacy

 On their wish list: an expanded role for women in the church.

ByChris Herlinger, Soli Salgado, Joachim Pham
Pope Francis meets members and supporters of Talitha Kum in his residence at the Vatican Feb. 7, 2025, the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking, which he established. Maryknoll Sr. Abby Avelino, international coordinator of Talitha Kum, is seen in front of the pope. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Sisters in Africa urge Pope Leo XIV to uphold Francis' commitment against trafficking

Pope Francis brought a powerful spotlight to the issue. Sisters hope the new pope will continue that momentum.

ByDoreen Ajiambo
On the way back to the city from Lurigancho, Peru, the road was slippery and dry, but it was fun and safe when we held hands together firmly. Relying one another is such a wonderful practice of liberation theology among women. (Courtesy of Sophia Park)
Columns

In Peru, women's hands are writing a new liberation theology

I found 21st-century liberation theology amid Peruvian women's networks, creating communities with sweat and tears, fixing lunch for the villagers, and helping the needy.

BySophia Park

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In Leo XIV, I see qualities of a holy/whole person, and potential for more

Daughters of the Sacred Heart face challenges ministering in the Philippines