Pope Leo XIV: Tens of thousands of people cram into St Peter's Square to hear first Sunday Mass

Tens of thousands of people crammed into St Peter’s Square to listen to the speak this morning. When he stepped on to the balcony he was greeted with a huge roar. As he waved there was a massive round of applause.

Police officers, paramedics and firefighters rushed forward to take their own personal photos. The streets around the City were all blocked by a huge throng. It was a much bigger crowd than when was elected on Thursday. At one stage a teeming mass started to head for one of the entrances and had to be held back by the police.

There were hundreds of children with their parents who wanted them to watch a piece of history. During his speech he mentioned several countries and there were cheers when he said “Dallas, Texas”

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He recited the Regina Caeli prayer, in honour of the Virgin Mary, in his first public address since his election.

“Let us take up the invitation that Pope Francis left us in his Message for today: the invitation to welcome and accompany young people,” Leo said from the balcony, speaking in fluent Italian. “And let us ask our heavenly Father to assist us in living in service to one another.”

Pope Leo called for peace in , as well as a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. A woman who said she had flown in from New York was standing next to me had tears in her eyes.

There was a joyful atmosphere with hundreds of flags from many countries being waved. There were several Stars and Stripes to mark the country of the Pope’s birth - the United States.

Others included Cuba, , Poland, Costa Rica, the Philippines and France. There was one Union Jack fluttering near the back. Several bands played around the square.

Yesterday the Pope visited the grave of his predecessor and laid a flower. He went on to visit and pray at a Marian shrine outside of Rome, greeting the community there and urging them to “be faithful to the Mother.”

The Holy Father visited the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano . The sanctuary, located an hour east of Rome, is run by the religious of the Order of St. Augustine and a Vatican spokesman said: “houses an ancient image of the Virgin, dear to the Order and to the memory of Leo XIII”.

The Pope greeted pilgrims at the shrine before praying at the altar. Pope Leo will be formally inaugurated at a mass in St Peter's Square next week on 18 May.

The 69-year-old is the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter, and the first American to become a pontiff. He will lead members of the Catholic Church's global community of 1.4bn people.