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Pope Leo XIV officiated this Sunday at St. Peter's Square the inaugural mass of his papacy, calling for love, unity within the Church, and peace in the world.
The event began with the traditional movement of the Holy Father in his papamobile through the square, where he greeted thousands of faithful, according to Vatican News.
At the beginning of this symbolic mass, León XIV received the symbols of his papacy from the hands of the cardinals.
Cardinal Mario Zenari imposed the Pallium, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presented the Fisherman's Ring, in a ceremony where the Pope was seen becoming emotional.
Then, the ceremony continued with the symbolic rite of "obedience," presented to the Pope by twelve representatives from all categories of the People of God, coming from various parts of the world, including Brazilian Cardinal Jaime Spengler, as reported in the note by Vatican News.
During the subsequent homily, León XIV remembered his predecessor and called for the unity of the Church.
"I would like our first great wish to be a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, that becomes a leaven for a reconciled world," he said.
“In our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth's resources and marginalizes the poorest,” he added.
The Supreme Pontiff concluded with a call for love among all mankind.
"Brothers, sisters, this is the hour of love! (…) Together, as one people, all brothers, let us walk towards God and love one another," he concluded.
León XIV is directly familiar with the Cuban reality
José Alberto Escobar, delegate of the Order of Saint Augustine on the island, assured that the new Pope Leo XIV “holds the Cuban people very close to his heart” and is well aware of their reality.
The religious leader explained that Prevost visited Cuba in April 2008 and in February 2011.
During his visit in 2008, the current Bishop of Rome, who was the general prior of the Augustinians from 2001 to 2013, "spent a great deal of time getting to know the communities in Chambas (Diocese of Ciego de Ávila) and in Puerto Padre (Diocese of Holguín)."
Three years later, in 2011, he focused on "presiding over the Assembly that we Augustinians hold annually, where we evaluate and plan the main aspects related to our community and personal life in Cuba."
During the visits, Prevost “shared with the people of our parishes their joys, concerns, fears, or sleepless nights” and also “listened, visited, shared in their homes, and even stayed in their houses,” said Escobar.
Escobar stated that the current Holy Father “has lived out his mission since his youth and has always been very simple and genuine in his personal relationships with those he interacts with” and “has shown a continuous interest in understanding the life of faith of the Church in Cuba and of his Augustinian brothers.”
The return of the Augustinians to Cuba
Recently, another religious figure in Cuba, Monsignor Emilio Aranguren Echeverría, the current Bishop of Holguín, recalled the “imprint of simplicity” left by the visit in 2008 to Cuba of the then Prior General of the Augustinians.
Aranguren Echeverría revealed that Prevost negotiated the return of the Augustinians to Cuba after they were expelled by Fidel Castro in 1961.
The current bishop of Holguín, accompanied by the late Cardinal Jaime Ortega, Archbishop of Havana, visited Prevost in Rome in 2005, where they requested the return of the Augustinians to Cuba.
The return of the order materialized a year later, first in Ciego de Ávila, then in Puerto Padre (Holguín), and finally in Havana, the bishop explains.
Prevost then arrived in 2008 to visit the Cuban Augustinians in the diocese of Holguín, especially at the parish of Puerto Padre.
As the rectory adjacent to the parish of Puerto Padre was under repair, Robert Francis Prevost was taken in by a host family during his three-day stay, Aranguren recounts.
“Today, the joy of Mr. Manuel Miguel (who welcomed him into his home), known to everyone as Manolín, is overwhelming, and he shows everyone a simple diploma that Father Prevost handed to him for his hospitality and the support he provided to the friars of the community,” he recounts.
From Puerto Padre, the then prior of the Augustinians moved to Holguín to meet with Aranguren and get a firsthand understanding of the reality in eastern Cuba.
"Undoubtedly, today León XIV left a mark of simplicity, of closeness, of joy in seeing how his brothers were evangelizing and serving the love of God amid such a needy reality,” he said.
The Pope and Cuba
Robert Francis Prevost, 69 years old, was elected in early May as the 267th Pope of the Catholic Church. He is the first American Pope and also holds Peruvian citizenship after having lived in that country for many years.
Former Cardinal Prevost has had a direct connection with Cuba, a country he visited several times before his appointment as Supreme Pontiff.
Shortly after his appointment, a photo of him in Havana alongside the late dissident Harold Cepero Escalante surfaced on social media, taken in front of the Cathedral of Havana during a moment of Christian fellowship that takes on new significance today.
Cepero Escalante, a member of the Christian Liberation Movement, died at the age of 32 in Granma while riding in a car with Oswaldo Payá. The event was classified as an "accident" by the government, but family, friends, and a report from the Human Rights Foundation in 2015 attribute it to a deliberate action by the regime.
Precisely, following the election of the new Pope, Raúl Castro and Miguel Díaz-Canel sent congratulatory messages, eager to present an image of harmony and continuity in their relations with the Vatican.
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