The traditional rituals initiating the pontificate of Leo XIV
The month following the election of a pope involves a succession of “firsts”. The most important ritual will take place on Sunday.
The month following the election of a pope is largely taken up with a succession of “firsts”, as the new pontiff formally takes possession of various locations related to his office, very similar to the accession of a British monarch. We have already seen Leo XIV ceremoniously break the seals on the Apostolic Apartments in the Vatican, though he will not move in for several weeks.
The most important of these rituals will take place on Sunday (18 May): the papal enthronement of Leo XIV at a special Mass in St Peter’s Square. It is technically incorrect to use the term “enthronement” for this occasion, since the Pope’s official enthronement as Bishop of Rome will take place a week later, at the archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, but it seems preferable to the wholly inappropriate term “inauguration”. Leo XIV may be an American, but he is not an American president, the office to which the term “inauguration” properly applies.
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