Vatican Announces Date For Newly Elected Pope’s Inauguration

The Vatican has announced that Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration will take place on May 18 with a mass in St. Peter’s Square.

The ceremony is to take place at 10 am (0800 GMT) at the Vatican.

World leaders are expected to attend the ceremony, which comes 10 days after the election of Robert Francis Prevost as the first American to lead the Roman Catholic Church’s 1.4 billion faithful.

The new pope will hold his first meeting with journalists on Monday, followed by an audience with diplomats accredited to the Holy See on Friday.

Pope Leo XIV’s first general audience is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21, and he will meet with senior Vatican officials from the Roman Curia on May 24.

Recall that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was announced as the first U.S. pontiff on Thursday after white smoke emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel following four rounds of voting in the papal conclave.

The new pope is set to keep Francis’ top employees in the Vatican in place for the time being, the Holy See said.