Pope Leo XIV to Cardinals: 'We are to bear witness to our joyful faith in Christ'

Pope Leo XIV to Cardinals: 'We are to bear witness to our joyful faith in Christ'

The morning after being elected the 267th Pope, Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass with the Cardinal electors in the Sistine Chapel, reminding them that "we are to bear witness to our joyful faith in Christ" while warning that where faith is lacking, life loses meaning.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

 "We are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Christ the Saviour..."
 Pope Leo XIV gave this heartfelt reminder during his first Mass as Pope on Friday, 9 May 2025, with the Cardinal electors and other Cardinals present in Rome, in the Sistine Chapel, the exact site where the electors, with at least a two-thirds majority, elected him as the 267th Pope on the fourth ballot on Thursday afternoon.

In his homily, the new Pope called for always better cultivating a personal relationship with Christ; and he insisted that, without faith, life lacks meaning.
 However, the new US-born Pope began with a few words in English, in which he thanked the Cardinal electors for their trust in him.

"I want to repeat the words from the Responsorial Psalm: 'I will sing a new song to the Lord, because He has done marvels,' and indeed, not just with me but with all of us.

"My brother Cardinals, as we celebrate this morning," he encouraged them, "I invite you to reflect on the marvels the Lord has done, the blessings that the Lord continues to pour out on all of us through the Ministry of Peter.

"You have called me to carry that cross, and to carry out that mission, and I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me, as we continue as a Church, as a community of friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the Good News, to announce the Gospel," he said.

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