Understanding the Liturgies to Begin Pope Leo XIV’s Ministry

Starting this Sunday, you’ll hear about a few liturgies to formally begin Pope Leo XIV’s ministry.

Leo XIV is the Pope, with full authority, when he accepts his election without needing any additional liturgy or ritual. Similarly, the King of England became the king immediately upon the death of his mother, yet, in both cases, there are rituals associated with the beginning.

Tiara

For a long time, the Pope’s coronation with the triple papal tiara felt more like a royal coronation than the start of a ministry. Pope Paul VI dramatically set the tiara aside in November 1964 by leaving it upon the altar at St. Peter’s, wishing to be auctioned with the proceeds going to the poor. (A group of Americans obtained it in exchange for food/medical aid and donated it to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, where it has since remained on display in the Crypt.) At the time, the Holy See stated it was a personal choice and not officially a complete abandonment.

Pope John Paul I took the next step in 1978 and did not use the tiara nor have a coronation to begin his ministry, but a more straightforward “installation”. Later in 1978, Pope John Paul II continued this saying: “Pope John Paul I, whose memory is so vivid in our hearts, did not wish to have the tiara; nor does his successor wish it today. This is not the time to return to a ceremony and an object considered, wrongly, to be a symbol of the temporal power of the popes.” When Pope John Paul II revised the rules regarding the death, election, and installation of the pope, he legislated for an “inauguration”. This officially changed the procedure as the previous regulations calling for a “coronation” were still on the books with both John Pauls simply modifying the process for that time (as is within the purview of the Holy Father).

Pope Benedict XVI took another step by using a mitre (bishop’s hat) with three stripes instead of the papal tiara in his coat of arms. A group from Germany commissioned and presented a tiara to Pope Benedict in 2011, but he never used it.

The tiara is still used on the crests of the Holy See and Vatican City. An actual tiara is still placed on the head of a statue of St. Peter in St. Peter’s for the feast of the Chair of St. Peter (February 22), which celebrates Peter’s authority to guide the universal church.

Source of the Ritual

Back to the beginning of papal ministry, while both John Paul inaugurations were ad hoc liturgies, the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff prepared a “permanent” liturgy. The Ordo Rituum Pro Ministerii Petrini Initio Romæ Episcopi was approved by Pope Benedict XVI on April 20, 2005.

Yup. April 20th. He was elected to the papacy on April 19th and one of his first acts was to approve the liturgy that would be used for his inauguration a week later.

Lastly, Pope Benedict made minor adjustments in 2013, shortly before his resignation. Pope Francis used this revised version and, from all I can tell, will also be used for Pope Leo XVI.

Pope Benedict XVI’s Changes

I am unaware of a physical copy that includes the 2013 changes available to the public. I have the 2005 book and am using a machine translation of the announcement of the modifications published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, which I’ll include at the end of this post.

The change amounts to moving rituals not proper to the Mass itself to outside the Mass, either immediately before or after. The Church, after Vatican II, tended to put everything inside the Mass, often around the homily. For sacraments, that’s still the standard way. For non-sacramental things, though, especially in papal liturgies which often have unique additions, the Church has adapted to separate them from the Mass itself.

Of note, according to the liturgical program published for the Mass on Sunday, it appears that Leo XIV may have approved a return to the original 2005 version, at least for that Mass. Once I can confirm anything, I’ll update this post.

The ritual at St. Paul’s is extremely similar to the 2005 text, but not perfectly aligned. I take from that Leo XIV did not revoke the 2013 modifications in their entirety.

On to the Rites!

The Ordo Rituum Pro Ministerii Petrini begins at the beginning. The Ordo Rituum Conclavis handles the conclave, including the Pope’s acceptance and the Pro Ministerii Petrini picks up on the loggia.

May 8, 2025: A Great Joy

The order begins “Annúntio vobis gáudium magnum; habémus Papam“. The announcement of elected Cardinal and his new name as Pope, then the Urbi Et Orbi blessing given by the new Pope at his first appearance to the world is laid out here.

May 18, 2025: Inaugural Mass

Chapter 2 is the De Celebratione Eucharistica Pro Romani Episcopi Ministerii Petrini Initio or “On the Eucharistic Celebration for the Beginning of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome”. This is the next event to get the attention of all the mainstream (and Catholic) press.

The Mass is to the papacy what the pageantry of the presidential inauguration, without the formal power of office being conferred, is to the American president or the coronation to the King of England.

The Vatican released the liturgical program for this Sunday’s liturgy which, notably, returns a couple of the rituals back into the Mass that the 2013 modifications moved to just before it (and how Pope Francis did it). You can compare the above to the 2013 Francis program.

We start the procession with the Eastern Catholic Patriarchs and Pope Leo to the Tomb of St. Peter under the main altar within St. Peter’s. The group, along with various symbols of the papal office (Pallium, the Fisherman’s Ring, and the Book of the Gospels), will then proceed to the square. Meanwhile, litanies of the saints are sung. The litanies ask for the aid of the saints for the Church, Pope Leo XIV, and civil governors and citizens.

The Mass begins in the usual fashion with the Sign of the Cross, a blessing and sprinkling of water (replacing the penitential rite, as is a typical option invoked during Easter), the Gloria, and the Collect (opening prayer).

The Liturgy of the Word is proper to this Mass and will not use the Sunday readings. It starts with the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, proclaimed in Spanish, the Psalm in Italian, and then a second reading from the First Letter of St. Peter in English.

The Gospel, from John, is read twice. First, it is read in Latin by a Roman Rite deacon and then in Greek by an Eastern Catholic deacon. This is unique to solemn papal Masses and denotes the universality of the papal ministry to the entire Church, crossing all ritual boundaries.

Immediately after the Gospel readings, Pope Leo XIV will be presented with the two symbols of office brought in during the initial procession.

The pallium is a wool collar that resembles a yoke. It is a jurisdictional vestment that is given to every metropolitan archbishop in the generic form, but is only worn by the archbishop in his own territory. Even if the most senior Cardinal visits a place, he cannot wear a pallium outside his territory while the metropolitan still wears his. The exception is the Pope with his universal jursidiction, whose pallium has red crosses, wears his everywhere. In the presence of the Pope, the metropolitan will not wear his pallium.

Second, the Fisherman’s Ring for Pope Leo XIV will be presented. Traditionally, the seal on the ring is used to seal papal documents.

Lastly, various folks representing the overall Church will pledge “obedience” to the Pope (the quotes around the word are in the original liturgical program). This is a symbolic acceptance by the people of the Pope.

Mass continues with the Creed, as it is a Sunday, and the Universal Prayer / Prayers of the Faithful in various languages. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is as usual, with a proper preface, and the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I) will be used.

Update May 16th: Vatican News published an article with details about the Mass, which adds some to the above. It doesn’t note the change from the 2013 modifications, though.

May 20, 2025: Possession of the Papal Basilica of St. Paul

While unlikely to make the New York Times, on Tuesday, Pope Leo will take “possession” of St. Paul-outside-the-Walls. In Rome, various churches are in the patronage of Cardinals, to harken back to the tradition of cardinals being the senior clergy of Rome. You’ll often see this in a cardinalatial church with a cardinal’s coat of arms posted somewhere. The cardinal will often preach at these churches on occasion when in Rome and help with fundraising for maintenance.

The Pope also has the “title” to a few traditionally important churches in Rome—the four major basilicas: St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, St. Paul-outside-the-Walls, and St. Peter.

After a cardinal is granted a title to a church, they “take possession” of it in a liturgical ceremony. This is not terribly different than a bishop taking canonical possession of his new diocese, which is usually done during Vespers the evening before his installation Mass.

So, too, does the Pope take possession of his titular churches. His inaugural Mass represents the possession of St. Peter’s.

The 2005 version of the Ordo had specific rites for St. Paul-outside-the-Walls and St. Mary Major, with the expectation that they happen within a couple of weeks. The 2013 modifications remove the timing requirement and leave it to the discretion of the Pope what type of liturgical ceremony will be used.

In the 2005 text, it is a “station” in the context of a generic liturgical gathering—not a Mass nor Liturgy of the Hours. The Station at St. Paul’s would include a couple of prayers, a reading, and a blessing by the Pope.

For Leo XIV’s station at St. Paul, it is very similar to the 2005 text, with just a slight shifting of a couple of pieces.

Booklet for the visit of Leo XIV to the Tomb of St. Paul

The Pope will begin at the tomb of St. Paul, under the high altar. The choir will sing a hymn highlighting the shared role that Sts. Peter and Paul were in the church. Loosely translated, the song begins with “Gatekeeper of Heaven [Peter], Teacher of the World [Paul], judges of the age, true lights of the earth. One trimphed by the Cross [Peter was crucified], the other by the sword [Paul’s means of execution], crowned with laurel, they possess the senate of life [heaven]”

After a prayer, a reading from the first chapter of the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans is read.

The Holy Father may say a few words, then the hymn Doctor egregie Paule is sung. Usually sung during the Liturgy of the Hours for the The Conversion of St. Paul (January 25th), it begins, “Illustrious Teacher, Paul, instruct our way of life, make haste to help us, raise our minds to heaven above, until the perfect is more wondrously bestowed, as the imperfect and the partial pass away.” (ICEL translation)

Everyone will sing the Our Father, a closing prayer, and the Holy Father will give a blessing. As it nears 6 p.m., the whole liturgy will end with the Regina Cæli.

May 25, 2025: The Chair

A week after St. Peter’s, Pope Leo XIV will celebrate Mass at St. John Lateran in what is described in the Ordo as “On the Eucharistic celebration in which the Bishop of Rome sits for the first time on his chair“.

While everyone thinks of St. Peter’s when they think of the Pope and most people assume that St. Peter’s is the Pope’s cathedral, it isn’t. St. John Lateran is the cathedral for the Bishop of Rome as the Pope’s cathedra, or chair, is there.

Every diocese has a cathedral for the bishop, which is so named because it is the church that has the bishop’s chair. A chair has traditionally been seen as the literal seat of power from ancient Egypt, the Old Testament, European monarchy, and for bishops. Today, the cathedra represents the bishop’s teaching authority and the local church’s rallying point.

Only the bishop can sit in the cathedra, and a bishop actually accepts pastoral responsibility and governance only upon being seated on the cathedra for the first time. He’s not actually installed as bishop until he sits.

For the Pope, he, too, needs to take possession of his cathedra. While he’s already Pope and has already accepted pastoral responsibility of the universal church, sitting in his cathedra marks his acceptance of his specific pastoral responsibility as the Bishop of Rome.

St. John Lateran is the oldest public church in Rome, the mother church of the Roman Catholic rite. It’s the oldest basilica in the western world and afforded the unique title of “archbasilica”. The church’s formal name is “Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World”. That’s a mouthful, so St. John Lateran it is.

While awaiting the liturgical program from the Vatican, I’d expect the Mass to follow a similar process as when Pope Francis became pope.

First, the Pope processes into the Church, and after a few words from the Cardinal Vicar for Rome (the Pope’s vicar who actually runs the Diocese of Rome day-to-day), expressing the great joy of the Roman people for their new bishop, invites the Pope to sit in the cathedra.

He sits, marking his taking possession of St. John Lateran. Everyone celebrates!

Then, Mass begins and continues as usual with the Pope leading the Creed via questioning—basically the renewal of baptismal promises.

I wouldn’t expect secular media to pick this up much, but it is a wonderful image.

May 25, 2025: St. Mary Major

Also, Pope Leo XIV will visit St. Mary Major on Sunday. St. Mary’s is the oldest church in the world dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Similar to St. Paul’s above, there is not a designated ritual after the 2013 modifications. The Vatican did note that the visit to take possession will include the veneration of the icon of Mary known as “Salus Populi Romani“, as the protectress of the Roman people.

The 2005 text is a relatively short set of prayers of veneration and a blessing.

Pope Leo XIV has already visited St. Mary Major, including a visit to the tomb of Pope Francis, but didn’t include the formal intention of taking possession.

Pope Francis had a tradition of visiting St. Mary Major often, especially around his foreign trips. He broke with recent tradition to allow his and future popes’ burials at St. Mary Major if desired instead of St. Peter’s. Francis is the first pope buried at St. Mary Major since 1669.

All Done!

With those visits and rites completed, Pope Leo XIV will have completed the rites for the beginning of the Petrine Ministry.

Translation of the 2013 Modifications

I couldn’t find a translation of the actual modifications made by Pope Benedict XVI in 2013, so here’s a machine translation from the official Vatican record.

Prot. N. 192/13
MODIFICATIONS TO THE ORDER OF RITES FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE PETRINE MINISTRY OF THE BISHOP OF ROME

Celebrations for the Beginning of the Petrine Ministry and Taking Possession of the Roman Cathedra

Upon reviewing the texts for the celebrations marking the beginning of the pontificate and the taking possession of the cathedra of Rome at Saint John Lateran, a common feature is noticeable in both. In each case, the distinctive rites of these celebrations are currently situated within the context of the Holy Mass.
(See Ordo Rituum pro Ministerii Petrini Initio Romae Episcopi, nos. 51–57 and 82–84.)

Considering the modifications made in recent years to papal celebrations—particularly the effort to remove from the Mass elements not strictly proper to it (e.g., the Resurrexit rite on Easter Sunday, the imposition of the pallium on metropolitans, canonizations)—it is deemed appropriate to also modify the current structure of the two aforementioned celebrations. The proper rites for the beginning of the pontificate and for taking possession of the Roman cathedra will henceforth be placed before and outside of the Mass.

It is also considered appropriate to reintroduce the act of obedience by all the Cardinals to the new Pontiff within the celebration of the beginning of the Petrine ministry, in addition to its occurrence in the Sistine Chapel at the conclusion of the Conclave. In this way, this highly significant act will once again be visible to the entire Church and to the world, and it will allow all Cardinals—including non-electors—to take part in it.

Visits to the Basilicas of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and Saint Mary Major

The current Ordo Rituum pro Ministerii Petrini Initio Romae Episcopi, nos. 68–76 and 102–108, provides that the Supreme Pontiff visit these two Roman Basilicas shortly after the beginning of his ministry and celebrate a particular rite in each.

It is now considered more appropriate to leave it to the discretion of the new Pontiff to decide when to visit the two Basilicas and how the related liturgical celebrations should be carried out.

Musical Program

The current Ordo Rituum prescribes the musical program for all events connected to the beginning of the Petrine ministry of the Bishop of Rome in a rather rigid manner.

It is now considered appropriate to allow for greater freedom in the selection of sung parts, encouraging the use of the Church’s rich musical heritage, without being limited to the new compositions created at the time of the drafting of the Ordo itself.