Read Robert Prevost’s first speech as Pope Leo XIV from the Vatican balcony

Pope Leo XIV gave his first address from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica* in Vatican City*, shortly after being elected Friday morning Australian time, as the new head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Here is a translation of the speech, which he delivered in Italian, with one part in Spanish.

“May peace be with you all. Beloved brothers and sisters. This is the first greeting of the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for God.

“I too would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families, to all people, wherever they may be, to all peoples, to all the earth.

“May peace be with you. May peace be with you all, brothers and sisters. May peace be with you all, reach out to all your families, to all peoples, to all. This is the peace of the risen Christ, a disarmed* and disarming peace, humble* and persevering. It comes from God, God who loves us all, unconditionally.

“We still have in our ears that faint but always courageous voice of Pope Francis blessing Rome. We have that voice fresh in our ears, in our hearts, hearing the voice of the pope blessing Rome, the people, giving his blessing to the world, to the whole world, that Easter morning. Allow me to follow up that same blessing.

“God loves us, God loves you all, and evil will not prevail*. We are all in God’s hands.

Therefore, without fear, united, hand-in-hand with God and with each other, let us go forward.

We are disciples* of Christ, Christ walks ahead of us, the world needs His light. Humanity needs Him as the bridge to be reached by God and His love. You too help us, then each other, to build bridges, with dialogue*, with encounter, to be one people always at peace.

“Thank you Pope Francis. I also want to thank all my brother cardinals*, who have chosen me to be the successor* of Peter and to walk together with you as a united Church, always seeking peace and justice, always seeking to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear, to proclaim the Gospel, to be missionaries.

“I am a son of St Augustine*, an Augustinian, who said, “with you I am a Christian and for you a bishop”.

In this sense we can all walk together towards that homeland that God prepared for us.

To the Church of Rome, a special greeting.

“We must seek together how to be a missionary* Church, a Church that builds bridges, a dialogue, always open to receive, like this square with open arms, everyone who needs our charity, our presence, dialogue and love.

“And now a greeting in Spanish, please allow me. A greeting to all and in particular to my dear diocese* of Chiclayo, in Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, have shared their faith and have given so much, so much to continue to be the faithful Church of Jesus Christ.

“To all of you, brothers and sisters of Rome, of Italy, of the whole world, we want to be a synodal* Church, a Church that walks, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close, especially to those who suffer.

Today, the day of supplication* to Our Lady of Pompeii, our Mother Mary always wants to walk with us, to be close, to help us with her intercession* and her love.

“Now I would like to pray with you for this new mission, for the whole Church, for peace in the world. Let us ask for this special grace of Mary, our Mother.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy sign, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.

“Now, at the hour of our death, amen. Amen.”

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– transcript via AFP

POLL

GLOSSARY

• St Peter’s Basilica: Built over the Tomb of St. Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, the Renaissance church is one among the four major basilicas in the world, located in the Vatican City west of the River Tiber and near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrian’s Mausoleum
• Vatican City: one of the most sacred places in Christendom, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, and an enclave in Rome, situated on the west bank of the Tiber River
• disarmed: on one sense, to be disarmed is to give up weapons willingly and it also means to calm others and ease anger with your own manner and behaviour
• humble: modest, without a sense of superiority
• prevail: to reach a lasting position of power and influence
• disciples: followers, students, those who believe in the principles and ideas of a certain leader
• dialogue: ongoing conversation, exchange of ideas
• cardinals: priests of very high rank in the Roman Catholic Church, who come together from around the world to form the conclave that elects a new pope
• successor: the person or thing that replaces the one that came before
• St Augustine: Augustine of Hippo (354AD to 430AD) was perhaps the greatest Christian philosopher of antiquity, with deep and lasting influence, who is the patron saint of theologians (those who study God and religion)
• diocese: in the Roman Catholic Church, it’s the area or territory over which a bishop presides
• synodal: a special council of members of a Church, which meets regularly to discuss religious issues and matters relating to faith, morals or discipline
• supplication: the act of asking a god or someone who is in a position of power for something in a humble way
• intercession: praying on behalf of others, interceding or intervening on behalf of someone else

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QUICK QUIZ

1. What was the new pope’s given name?
2. Where was he born?
3. How many Catholics are there estimated to be worldwide?
4. From which balcony did Pope Leo XIV speak?
5. What colour was the smoke that signified the election of the new pope?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Speechwriting: condensed
Identify the most important pieces of information in the speech and write a condensed version of it using 50 words or less.

Draw a picture or diagram to support your condensed speech.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

2. Extension
Compare your condensed speech with a classmate. Did you both include the same information or are your speeches quite different? Discuss your choices and then work together to create a final condensed version of the speech that you both agree tells the important parts that an audience would need or want to know.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there at St Peter’s Basilica for the new pope’s first speech.

Create a conversation between two characters in the crowd – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.

Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.