AT his inauguration at the Vatican on Sunday, May 18, Pope Leo XIV vowed not to shrink before modern challenges, promising to tackle social issues such as poverty and protecting the environment.

The Pope said he was committed to a more united global Catholic Church.

He also pledged to continue the legacy of his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, Reuters reported.

Pope Leo XIV was formally installed as the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign monarch of Vatican City at St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, May 18.

In his inauguration sermon, Robert Prevost, who took the name, Pope Leo XIV, believes that the cardinals who elected him had chosen someone “capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and, at the same time, looking to the future, to confront the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world.”

“It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda, or using power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving, as Jesus did,” he said.

Calls for a united church

In an apparent reference to a war of words between Catholics who define themselves as conservative or progressive, he said, “Brothers and sisters, I would like our first great desire to be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.”

Pope Leo XIV, presiding over the Mass of Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry in St. Peter’s Square, invited the Church to walk together along the path of God’s love and remain united in one family.

He said this before thousands of pilgrims, leaders from around the world, and representatives of Christian denominations who graced the inauguration.

“I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family, Pope Leo XIV said.

In the face of a world marked by so much discord and wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, fear, and economic reality “that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest,” the Pope said, “we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion, and fraternity within the world.”

“We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one,” he urged.

He submitted that “this is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of goodwill, to build a new world where peace reigns!”

Many world leaders attended the ceremony, including Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu’s official invitation for the Pope’s inauguration at the Vatican was earlier announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga; The ICIR earlier reported.

Other global leaders present at the inauguration were the Presidents of Peru and Israel, the prime ministers of Italy, Canada, and Australia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.