As Pope Leo's words floated over St Peter’s Square today, a call to unity, peace and mission were major themes in his inauguration message. 

He appealed for a united Church, to be “a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world". He also encouraged the faithful to “Look to Christ! Come closer to him…” and to “Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one.” 

It was a message of hope and encouragement, received well by the thousands gathered for the inauguration Mass, which took place in St Peter’s Basilica and St Peter’s Square.

Representatives of world Christian Communions and faith groups attended, including a delegation of Anglican Primates and leaders from around the Anglican Communion. The delegation was led by the Most Revd Leonard Dawea, Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Melanesia.

The ecumenical groups sat in front of St Peter’s Basilica, where many political leaders and dignitaries from around world were present, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Britain's Prince Edward, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian and Italian leaders Mark Carney and Giorgia Meloni.

Alongside the Anglican delegation lead Archbishop Leonard, other Primates on the Anglican delegation included the Most Revd and Rt Hon Stephen Cottrell (Archbishop of York and Primate of England), the Most Revd John McDowell (Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland and a member of the Primates’ Standing Committee), the Most Revd Sean Rowe (Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church) and the Most Revd Thabo Makgoba (Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa).

Other Anglican leaders also joined the delegation, including Cannon Maggie Swinson (the Chair of the Anglican Consultative Council), the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo (the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion) and Kathleen Snow, (the Worldwide President of Mothers’ Union).

The Anglican delegation attended to represent the prayers and support of Anglicans around the world for Pope Leo and to embody the commitment of the Anglican Communion to dialogue and collaboration with the Catholic Church.

The delegation incorporated many clergy that contribute to Anglican-Catholic ecumenical dialogue. This included The Rt Revd Anthony Ball (Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See); the Rt Revd Graham Tomlin, Chair of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order and Canon Dr Christopher Wells (Director of Unity, Faith and Order, Anglican Communion Office).

The delegation was hosted by the Anglican Centre in Rome who worked closely with the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity at the Vatican in facilitating the Anglican delegation’s presence at Pope Leo’s inauguration.

The rite for the Inauguration of Leo XIV

The rite for the Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry of Leo XIV was a joyful occasion. It marked the official beginning of Pope Leo’s pontificate, as he becomes the new Bishop of Rome, the successor of the Apostle Peter and therefore Pastor of the Catholic Church. The rite features several moments of symbolic meaning. Pope Leo was presented with the pallium and fisherman’s ring. These are episcopal insignia associated with Peter.

The pallium is a liturgical vestment made from the wool of lambs. It evokes the image of the Good Shepherd who lays the lost sheep on his shoulders, and recalls Peter’s threefold response to the Risen Lord’s call to tend His lambs and sheep.

The Ring of the Fisherman has the specific significance of a signet ring, representing the seal of faith entrusted to Peter to strengthen his brethren. It is called the “Ring of the Fisherman” because Peter, having believed in Jesus' word, drew the nets ashore from the boat in the miraculous catch of fish.

Read more about the symbolism of the Inauguration Mass here.

Pope Leo's Message: "A church that opens its arms to the world and is made restless by history"

As Pope Leo addressed those gathered in St Peter's Square, he appealed for a united Church, to be “a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world", and described a time in which “we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest.”

He encouraged the faithful to “Look to Christ! Come closer to him…” and to “Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one.” His message also called for a missionary Church that “opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made ‘restless’ by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity. Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.”

Read more about the Pope’s Inauguration message

Reflections on the Inauguration

During the Inauguration day, members of the Anglican delegation shared their reflections and experiences. 

The Most Revd Leonard Dawea, Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Melanesia and leader of the Anglican delegation:

“I'm happy to lead the Anglican delegation to the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV. It is a privilege, but also a blessing to be present at the inauguration, and for the Anglican Church to be present there, a symbol of our unity and our shared mission.”

The Most Revd John McDowell, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland:

“I'm delighted to be here. I think [it's] probably the first time the Church of Ireland primate has been at this sort of thing. And the relationship between Catholics and Anglicans in Ireland is very strong… And these occasions, in a way, almost do more than the theological dialogues to cement the partnership and the gospel between the churches.” Making the point that theological dialogues involve relatively few people, he remarked that the attendance of groups at the inauguration is “… quite visible…” a “symbolic attendance at the inauguration mass…  is of tremendous significance for Anglicans and for Catholics.” 

The Most Revd Sean Rowe - Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church:

“It's great to be in Rome for the inauguration of Pope Leo, an American born and Peruvian citizen as well. We're so proud to be a part of this, that he has his roots in the United States, and, more importantly, that he shared his charisms all around the world, particularly with the poor and the marginalised…we're just thrilled that the Anglican delegation can be here to be a part of this and witness to unity in the church and across the world.” 

The Most Revd and Rt Hon Stephen Cottrell – The Archbishop of York and Primate of England:

“It's wonderful to be back in Rome for the inauguration mass of Pope Leo, who I hope also to be able to see, probably very briefly tomorrow, and driving across Rome this morning to see the thousands and thousands and thousands of people gathering is itself a remarkable thing. So, this is a great day for the Catholic Church worldwide, but a great day for the whole Christian community, because the fact that I'm here as part of a very large Anglican and wider ecumenical delegation is a sign of the journey that we've been on, and the journey that I hope will gather pace and momentum with Pope Leo's leadership. And it's a joy to be here today, to be part of this celebration.” 

The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba – The Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa:

“I am delighted to be a part of the delegation representing our beautiful family, the Anglican Communion, at the installation of His Holiness, Pope Leo the 14th. I hope, during his papacy, he will enable and encourage the dialogue that we've had over many years between our Communion and his, the Catholic Church, so we are one family, and it's important for us not only to talk, but to walk together.” 

Kathleen Snow, Worldwide President of Mothers’ Union

“…It's such an honour and a blessing to be here at the inauguration of Pope Leo the XIV. What gives me hope and inspiration is the fact that here with the Anglican delegation, we're walking alongside our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers and supporting the work that they all do in building the bridges. As Pope Leo mentioned himself, it's such an inspiration, and it gives me a feeling of hope that we are all together, walking this road, this journey together that Christ has meant for us to be in unity.” 

Canon Maggie Swinson (Chair of the Anglican Consultative Council):

“It's a real privilege to be here again in Rome, to join with our brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic Church in the inauguration of Pope Leo. It was a marvellous occasion to be here for the funeral of Pope Francis, and it's so moving for us all to be included as members of the wider family of God here in Rome today.”

The Rt Revd Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion: 

“It's been wonderful to be here at the inauguration of Pope Leo. The message that he gave us was a message of love and a message of peace. Calling on peace throughout the world, is an important message. The other important message that he gave calling on us to be people who go out, to be preaching the Word of God, in the same way that Peter and the other disciples are called from being fishers of fish to fishers of men. And so we should go out to the people and proclaim the message. And because of his background as a missionary, it is important for us to be able to go out and preach the Word of God.”

The Rt Revd Graham Tomlin, Chair of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order, and Director of the Centre for Cultural Witness in the Church of England:

"It’s been wonderful to be here as part of a gathering of churches from all around the world... the Chistian family in one place and to hear Pope Leo talking about love and unity is such a crucial thing for us at this particular moment as we try to bear witness to Jesus Christ in our world and we do that together. Unified (as far as we can be) and trying to share the love of Christ... you can sense that here as you look around, and you see this Christian family gathered here today.” 

The Anglican delegation has been supported by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity at the Vatican. Father Martin Browne OSB said:

"It is a sign of real ecumenical friendship when Christians share in each other’s joys and sorrows. Our ecumenical partners joined us in prayer when the late Pope Francis was ill. They sent numerous messages of sympathy and affection when he died, and they joined us in great numbers for his funeral. It was touching that the Anglican Communion sent such a large delegation of primates and other leaders from throughout the Communion.

Three weeks later, the Church of Rome is once again welcoming numerous guests from other churches and communities. The circumstances are of course much happier - the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV - but the great expression of ecumenical solidarity that we are experiencing is equally moving. The significance of the presence of our fellow-Christians also has a deeper meaning. It is a recognition of the particular significance of the Bishop of Rome as a servant of communion for all the churches - of the Pope's call to be, as Pope Gregory the Great put it, the 'servant of the servants of God'. 

This is particularly important for us in the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, since we recently published a study document on ecumenical responses to Pope John Paul II's invitation to all Christians, thirty years ago, to help the Catholic Church discern how the ministry of the Bishop of Rome 'may accomplish a service of love recognised by all concerned'. Although we still have many issues to overcome, the closeness of our Anglican brothers and sisters at this time, and their recognition of the importance of the ministry of the Pope on the world stage, is a welcome foretaste and hopeful sign of the unity for which we long and for which we work." 

Members of the Anglican Delegation:

• The Most Revd Leonard Dawea, Bishop of Temotu and Primate of the Anglican Church of Melanesia; participant on IARCCUM (The International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission); and a member of the Primates’ Standing Committee, from the Oceania region.
• The Most Revd and Rt Hon Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York and Primate of England.
• The Most Revd John McDowell, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland and a member of the Primates’ Standing Committee.
• The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba – The Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa
• The Most Revd Sean Rowe, the Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church.
• Canon Maggie Swinson, Chair of the Anglican Consultative Council.
• The Rt Revd Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion.
• Canon Dr Christopher Wells, Director of Unity, Faith and Order, Anglican Communion Office.
• The Rt Revd Anthony Ball, Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See.
• The Rt Revd Graham Tomlin, Chair of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order, and Director of the Centre for Cultural Witness in the Church of England.
• Kathleen Snow, Worldwide President of Mothers’ Union.
• The Rt Revd Robert Innes, Diocese in Europe.
• The Rt Revd Mark Edington, Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe.

Article from the Anglican Communion News network. Photo credit Anglican delegation / Anglican Communion News