Pope Francis was inaugurated on 19 March 2013 in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. Holy Mass was celebrated before political and religious leaders from around the world. The crowd was estimated between 150,000 and 200,000. Official delegations from 132 states and various religious groups attended. It was the first papal inauguration attended by the Patriarch of Constantinople in over 1,000 years.
Ceremony About half an hour before the Mass, Francis toured the square in the popemobile to greet the crowds. He stopped and left the popemobile once to kiss a disabled man. Pope Francis wore a simple mitre, which he had had since he was bishop, as well as its matching chasuble. He used the Papal ferula that Pope Benedict XVI used, but in contrast to Benedict XVI's grand liturgical sense, Pope Francis kept the songs and liturgical actions simple.
After the pope's arrival, the ceremony began with the new pope descending to the tomb of St. Peter in St. Peter's Basilica. The pope, along with the patriarchs and major-archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches prayed at the tomb. Afterwards, the pallium—a lamb's wool shawl—and the Ring of the Fisherman were taken by two deacons from the tomb where they had previously been laid and carried up to be borne in procession. Then the pope and the Eastern Catholic patriarchs and major-archbishops went up to the basilica main floor and proceeded along with the other cardinals, bishops and other clergy in procession to the square chanting the "Laudes Regiæ".
The cardinal protodeacon, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, bestowed the pallium on the pope. The senior cardinal-priest present, Godfried Danneels, read the prayer for the new pope before the Ring of the Fisherman was presented. Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, presented him with his Fisherman's Ring of gold-plated silver unlike his predecessors' which were gold. Six cardinals, two of each rank of cardinal, then professed their obedience to Pope Francis on behalf of the College of Cardinals. In previous ceremonies, all the cardinals did so.
According to a Vatican spokesperson between 150,000 and 200,000 people attended.
Homily
Pope Francis delivered his homily in Italian. He focused on the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, the liturgical day on which the Mass was celebrated. He stated that everyone needs to care for the earth and for each other as Joseph cared for Jesus and Mary. He set forth a plan of his own actions: "The pope, too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service, which has its radiant culmination on the cross."
Official delegations
Some 132 states and international organizations sent delegations to the inauguration. The delegations included 6 sovereign rulers, 31 heads of state, 3 princes, and 11 heads of government.Laura Smith-Spark et al: Thousands pack St. Peter's Square for Pope Francis' inauguration CNN, 19 March 2013
States
Country Official delegationAndorraCo-Prince Joan Enric Vives Sicília, Bishop of UrgellAlbaniaPrime Minister Sali BerishaAngolaVice President Manuel Domingos VicenteArmeniaPresident Serzh SargsyanArgentinaPresident Cristina Fernandez de KirchnerAustriaPresident Heinz Fischer and his wife, Margit Fischer Chancellor Werner FaymannVice Chancellor Michael SpindeleggerBahrainPrince Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al KhalifaBangladeshForeign Minister Dipu MoniBelarusAnatoly Rubinov, Chairman of the Council of the RepublicSergey Aleinik, Ambassador to the Holy SeeBelgiumKing Albert II and Queen PaolaPrime Minister Elio Di RupoBosnia-HerzegovinaPrime Minister Vjekoslav BevandaZlatko Lagumdžija, Minister of Foreign AffairsSredoje Nović, Minister of Civil AffairsEugen Šušak, Head of the Cabinet of the Prime MinisterBrazilPresident Dilma RousseffBulgariaPresident Rosen PlevnelievCanadaGovernor General David Johnston and his wife Sharon JohnstonJason Kenney, Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and MulticulturalismChilePresident Sebastian Piñera and First Lady Cecilia MorelChina, Republic ofPresident Ma Ying-jeou and First Lady Christine Chow Mei-chingVanessa Shih, Deputy Minister of Foreign AffairsColombiaMaría Ángela Holguín, Minister of Foreign AffairsCosta RicaPresident Laura ChinchillaCroatiaPresident Ivo Josipović and First Lady Tatjana JosipovićVesna Pusić, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European AffairsCubaFirst Vice President Miguel Díaz-CanelCyprusAndreas Mavroyiannis, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Czech RepublicKarel Schwarzenberg, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign AffairsDominican RepublicCándida Montilla de Medina, First LadyEcuadorPresident Rafael CorreaEgyptMohamed Saber Ibrahim Arab, Minister of CultureEl SalvadorHugo Martínez, Minister of Foreign AffairsFrancePrime Minister Jean-Marc AyraultLaurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign and European AffairsGermanyNorbert Lammert, President of the BundestagWinfried Kretschmann, President of the BundesratChancellor Angela Merkel Vice Chancellor Philipp RöslerHondurasPresident Porfirio Lobo SosaHungaryPresident János Áder and First Lady Anita Herczegh Zsolt Semjén, Deputy Prime Minister György Hölvényi, State Secretary for religious, ethnic and civil societyItalyPresident Giorgio Napolitano and First Lady Clio Maria BittoniPrime Minister Mario MontiPietro Grasso, President of the SenateLaura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of DeputiesIndiaP. J. Kurien, Rajya Sabha Deputy ChairmanIrelandPresident Michael D. Higgins and First Lady Sabina HigginsMichael Noonan, Minister for FinanceJapanYoshiro Mori, former Prime MinisterKosovoHashim Thaçi, Prime MinisterLebanonPrime Minister Nagib MiqatiLiechtensteinHereditary Prince Alois and his wife Hereditary Princess SophieLithuaniaPresident Dalia GrybauskaitėLuxembourg Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria TeresaMaltaPresident George AbelaPrime Minister Joseph MuscatLawrence Gonzi, Leader of the OppositionMexicoPresident Enrique Peña Nieto and First Lady Angélica RiveraMonacoPrince Albert II and Princess CharleneNetherlandsWillem-Alexander and Máxima, the Prince and Princess of OrangePrime Minister Mark RutteNew ZealandChris Finlayson, Cabinet ministerNicaraguaVice President Omar HalleslevensNigeriaDavid Mark, President of the Senate Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi, Minister of Aviation Viola Onwuliri, Minister of StateParaguayPresident Federico FrancoPeruRafael Roncagliolo, Minister of Foreign AffairsPhilippinesVice President Jejomar BinayPolandPresident Bronisław Komorowski and First Lady Anna KomorowskaBogdan Borusewicz, Speaker of the SenateLech Wałęsa, former PresidentJacek Cichocki, Director of the Prime Minister's OfficePortugalPresident Aníbal Cavaco SilvaRomaniaPresident Traian BăsescuRussiaSergey Naryshkin, Chairman of the State DumaSan MarinoPasquale Valentini, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and PoliticsSerbiaPresident Tomislav NikolićIvan Mrkić, Minister of Foreign AffairsSeychellesJean-Paul Adam, Minister for Foreign Affairs SingaporeGrace Fu, Minister in Prime Minister's OfficeSlovakiaPresident Ivan GašparovičSlovenia President Borut PahorSouth KoreaYoo Jin-ryong, Minister of Culture, Sports and TourismSpainFelipe and Letizia, the Prince and Princess of AsturiasPrime Minister Mariano RajoySri LankaNeomal Perera, Deputy Minister of External AffairsSarath Kumara Gunaratna, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic ResourcesJohn Amaratunga, Member of ParliamentSwitzerlandDidier Burkhalter Federal CouncillorUkraineKostyantyn Hryshchenko, Deputy Prime MinisterUnited KingdomPrince Richard and Birgitte, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester (representing the Queen of the United Kingdom and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England)Message from Her Majesty The Queen to Pope FrancisBaroness Warsi, Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Faith and Communities Kenneth Clarke, Minister without PortfolioUnited StatesVice President Joe Biden and his sister, Valerie Biden Owens Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader in the House of RepresentativesSusana Martinez, Governor of New MexicoVenezuelaDiosdado Cabello, President of National AssemblyZimbabwePresident Robert Mugabe and First Lady Grace Mugabe
Taiwan's representation was opposed by China, which has asked the Vatican to end the diplomatic relations with the state.AFP: The Star 20 March 2013
Others subject of international lawOfficial delegationEuropean UnionHerman Van Rompuy, President of the European CouncilJose Manuel Barroso, President of the European CommissionMartin Schulz, President of the European ParliamentUnited NationsJosé Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)Sovereign Military Order of MaltaPrince and Grand Master Matthew Festing
Religious figures
Christian churches ChurchOfficial delegationEastern Orthodox churchesOrthodox Church of ConstantinopleBartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of ConstantinopleRussian Orthodox ChurchHilarion (Alfeyev), Department for External Church Relations of Moscow PatriarchateSerbian Orthodox ChurchMetropolitan Amfilohije (Radović), Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral and Administrator of Eparchy of Buenos Aires (and Central and Southern America)Orthodox Church in AmericaMetropolitan Tikhon, Metropolitan of All America and CanadaMontenegrin Orthodox ChurchArchbishop Mihailo, Archbishop of Cetinje and MontenegroAnglican and Old Catholic churchesChurch of EnglandJohn Sentamu, Archbishop of York, Primate of EnglandEpiscopal ChurchPierre Whalon, bishop-in-charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in EuropeUnion of Utrecht (Old Catholic)Joris Vercammen, Archbishop of UtrechtOriental OrthodoxArmenian Apostolic ChurchKarekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians
The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople had not attended a papal inauguration since the Great Schism of 1054. Orthodox leaders said that the decision of Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople to attend showed that he considers the relationship between the Orthodox and Catholic churches a priority. They also noted that Francis's "well-documented work for social justice and his insistence that globalization is detrimental to the poor" may have created a "renewed opportunity" for the two church communities to "work collectively on issues of mutual concern."Demacopoulos, George E., "The extraordinary historical significance of His Holiness' presence at Pope Francis' installation as Bishop of Rome" , Archon News (Order of St. Andrew the Apostle), 19 March 2013, Retrieved 19 March 2013
Other religions
BodyOfficial delegationBuddhismRisshō Kōsei KaiNichiko Niwano, PresidentJainismInstitute of JainologyHarshadray N Sanghrajka, Deputy Chair & DirectorJudaismItalian Jewish CommunityRiccardo di Segni, Grand Rabbi of RomeRiccardo Pacifici, President of Rome's Jewish communityChief Rabbinate of IsraelOded Wiener, Director GeneralIslamIslamic Community of SerbiaMuhamed Jusufspahić, Mufti of Serbia and Vice President of Rijaset of Islamic Community of SerbiaIslamic Community of Latin AmericaMohamed Youssef Hajar, Secretary General of the Islamic Organisation of Latin America
Notes
References
External links
Pope Francis inauguration: as it happened