As Augustinian from Chicago is installed as Pope Leo XIV, prayers and tears echoed in St. Peter’s Square

VATICAN CITY — Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle did not put the Fisherman’s gold Ring on Pope Leo XIV’s finger at that precise moment.

Shortly afterward, the 69-year-old pope, who was born in Chicago, became the 266th heir to the throne of St. Peter turned to face his hand.

The seriousness of everything the ring represents seemed to hit him in a flash. He raised his hands back to his chin, lowered his gaze, and turned them sideways to inspect the new piece of jewelry after pulling them away from his face in a prayerful motion.

He appeared to be a man who was trying desperately to control his emotions while carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, for better or worse.

Sitting close to the front of the congregation in St. Augustine were some of his Augustinian siblings. Peter’s sq\. — the vicar general of the order, the Rev., estimates that there are 60 friars and 30 nuns there. Joe Farrell—permitted them to be visibly moved by the scene’s depths.

Tears were shed. Prayers were also said.

The Rev. said, “I was really struck by the entire process of putting on the ring and the pallium.”. Joseph Roccasalva, 35, is an Augustinian priest who currently works at one of his order’s schools in Oklahoma. He was raised in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago.

Did he feel that the new pope, whom he had known for 13 years, was equally affected by the ring moment?

Absolutely, Roccasalva replied. “Seeing someone I know in the role of pope is simply amazing.”. “”.

Two extremely symbolic items are a stole and a ring.

Two items that represent the role a new pope has taken on as pope are presented to him early in the papal Mass of Inauguration.

The first one is a narrow stole, or pallium, made from sheep that were raised by Trappist monks at Rome’s Abbey of the Three Fountains. It represents Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, who relentlessly searches for his lost sheep, carries them safely home, and drapes them around his shoulders.

The second item is the Fisherman’s gold signet, which is reminiscent of St. According to biblical accounts, Peter was a fisherman when Jesus asked him to give up his nets, enter his ministry, and become a “fisher of men.”. “”.

Since the thirteenth century, popes have worn variations of the fisherman’s ring; each pope has a special ring that is made for him and broken when he passes away. Pope Francis, who vowed to live in poverty as a Jesuit, wore a gold-plated silver fisherman’s ring that had once belonged to Pope Paul VI’s secretary.

Leo has decided to wear a gold ring with an image of St. According to the Vatican, Peter is holding his fishing nets and keys (to the kingdom of heaven).

During the Sunday morning Mass outside St. About 200,000 pilgrims are thought to have gathered in Peter’s sq\., which opened with passages from the Gospel of St. You are Peter, Matthew says, and I will establish my church on this rock. “”.

As the renowned open-top white popemobile pulled into the piazza in front of St. Charles, Leo made his first appearance prior to the start of the Mass. A little after nine in the morning, Peter’s Basilica. m. Rome (2 a. M. in Chicago), a number of people from the Augustinians, his religious order, who are mostly from the Chicago area, cheered loudly.

“Augustino!” some yelled loudly.

Many more in the huge crowd yelled, “Viva, Papa Leone, viva!” as the popemobile moved across the square and onto Via della Conciliazione, the avenue that leads off of St. Peter’s heading for the Tiber River.

Others held up their phones and cameras while standing on chairs and bending their necks to get a better view.

The Rev… Standing on a chair facing away from the basilica, with his phone and a GoPro camera in hand, John Lydon, 69, the formation director of the Augustinians, who resides in Hyde Park and was Pope Leo’s roommate for ten years in Peru, had his eyes fixed on his former friend.

As though in prayer, Lydon’s lips moved almost imperceptibly.

The popemobile went by a few feet away, and the Rev. Church pastor Homero Sanchez of St. Rita from the Cascia Parish stood up and applauded. Then, however, he sat down with his liturgical robe’s black capuche (hood) drawn over his head to shield it from the scorching Roman sun. He seemed to be praying.

He merely replied, “No,” when asked if he was concerned about his friend. “.”.

Leo discussed the importance of the task at hand and his desired approach during his 12-minute homily.

With fear and trepidation, the new pope declared, “I have been chosen without merit and, as a brother, I come to you as a servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, who wants us all united in one family.”.

He went on to say, “We are called to offer God’s love to everyone without closing ourselves in our small group or feeling superior to the world, so that unity can be achieved that does not cancel differences but enhances each person’s personal history and their social and religious culture.”. “This is love hour, brothers and sisters!”.

Sanchez talked more about his feelings and ideas for the day after the papal installation Mass concluded at noon.

“I found it very touching that he is now the pastor of everyone,” Sanchez, who has known the new pope since 2008, said. It’s very intimate. He’s our brother, the Augustinian. dot. His identity is known to us. “.”.

Shortly after Leo was elected pope on May 8, Sanchez spoke with him.

Sanchez stated, “I texted him to congratulate him, and he simply asked us to pray for him.”.

“That he would be open to the Holy Spirit,” Sanchez said when asked what he prayed for his friend on Sunday. Even though he is the pope, I will still pray for him every day because he is our brother. “.”.

“I need someone to pinch me.”.

Will County public defender Kevin Blindauer, who was ordained as a permanent Catholic deacon in 2016, and his wife, insurance adjuster Gysel, raised two banners in St. They were easily identifiable during the papal Mass in Peter’s sq\.. While hers was a flag from her home country of Peru, his read “CHICAGO.”.

Kevin Blindauer, a deacon at Mary Seat of Wisdom Parish in Park Ridge, said, “I keep saying, someone pinch me — this is, like, real work of the Holy Spirit,” as thousands of people poured out of the Vatican piazza.

Although my wife is from Peru, where he is a citizen, we have this connection to Chicago. The mission seems to be just getting started. Did you ever imagine the pope would be from Peru and Chicago? “”.

comfortable in the popemobile.

Both Lisa Solava and Denise Utter, who are 60 years old and from New Lenox, witnessed “Father Bob,” as he has been known for years, ascend the throne of Peter with all the glitz, glamour, and bells of the most important church events.

As the Mass came to an end, Solava and Utter were beaming with pride and love for their friend of over two decades. They were amazed at how Leo seemed to be the same person they had always known despite all the papal accoutrements and the weight of history.

“He just looked like himself, completely at ease,” Utter said as he sped by in the popemobile. “”.

Solava went on to say, “That’s him. He always fits the situation, whether he’s cleaning sewers in Peru with his wellies on or at some fancy fundraiser.”. “”.

“Wherever he is, he is,” Utter remarked, raising her arm to reveal the Spanish phrase “aqui y ahora” tattooed along her right forearm. To commemorate her 60th birthday, she received it in Barcelona, which means “here and now.” It also encourages us to “place ourselves in this moment and remember that God is here and now.”. “”.