Thousands cheer as Pope Leo XIV waves during his debut popemobile ride ahead of installation      

Pope Leo XIV took his first popemobile ride through St Peter’s Square on Sunday, greeting tens of thousands of people who joined presidents, patriarchs and princes for the formal installation ceremony of history’s first American pope that blends ancient ritual, evocative symbols and a nod to modern-day celebrity. The bells of St Peter’s Basilica tolled as Leo waved from the back of the open-topped truck that looped slowly through the square and then up and down the boulevard to it.

The crowd cheered “Viva il Papa” and waved plenty of Peruvian, American and Holy See flags — representing Leo’s nationalities — mixed in with flags of other nations, banners and umbrellas to shield pilgrims from the springtime sun.

The popemobile tour has become synonymous with the papacy’s global reach and mediatic draw, used at home and abroad to bring popes close to their flock. It was here that Francis took his last popemobile ride on Easter Sunday, and it was on the back of a popemobile that Francis’ casket was brought across Rome last month to its final resting place.

Security was tight as civil protection crews in neon uniforms funnelled pilgrims into quadrants in the piazza while priests hurried into St. Peter’s Basilica to get ready for the Mass.

US Vice President JD Vance, one of the last foreign officials to see Pope Francis before he died, paid his respects at the Argentine pope’s tomb upon arriving in Rome late Saturday and was heading the US delegation honouring the Chicago-born Leo.

Leo — a 69-year-old Augustinian missionary elected on May 8 after a 24-hour conclave — smiled and waved from the truck as security guards jogged alongside.

After the public tour in the square, Leo goes into the basilica to begin the solemn ceremony to inaugurate his ministry in a series of rites that emphasize the service that he’s called to perform in leading the Catholic Church. He prays first at the tomb of St. Peter, considered to be the first pope, under the basilica’s main altar and then processes out into the piazza for the Mass.

Strict diplomatic protocol dictates the seating arrangements, with both the United States and Peru getting front-row seats thanks to Leo’s dual citizenship. Vance, a Catholic convert who tangled with Francis over the Trump administration’s mass migrant deportation plans, is being joined by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Rome ahead of time to try to advance Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte is one of around a dozen heads of state attending, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russia is being represented by the culture minister, Olga Liubimova.

Three dozen of the world’s other Christian churches sent their own delegations, headed by patriarchs, reverands, ministers and metropolitans.

World