Whoops, waves, tears: Faithful react to Pope Leo’s first Sunday blessing in St. Peter’s Square

By GIOVANNA DELL ORTO VATICAN CITY AP Tens of thousands of faithful Catholics gathered in St Peter s Square to watch Pope Leo XIV deliver the first Sunday blessing of his pontificate exactly at noon They unfurled flags from around the world waved back as the first U S pope waved from the loggia and whooped hugged and wiped away tears as he shared a greeting for Mother s Day The crowd started pouring into the Vatican hours before the marching bands arrived and the pope walked through the dark red drapes of the balcony in the middle of the facade of St Peter s Basilica to deliver his prayer Here are particular of their reactions A whoop and a watercolor U S college scholar Wesley Buonerba was supposed to fly home for Mother s Day after spending the year studying in Rome But he changed his plans to be in the square for the papal blessing and let out a loud whoop when Leo declared in Italian Happy holiday to all moms I can t help being joyful and feeling very privileged he disclosed His curly hair held back by a Stars and Stripes bandanna the architecture major sketched a watercolor of the pope while thousands around him held high their smartphones Habits red roses and red-and-white flags Three Peruvian nuns wore red roses on their brown habits for Mother s Day and unfurled a big red-and-white flag In the current era also we re invited to pray incessantly for the institution that the pope brings to the whole of humanity declared Alicia Tasayco superior general of the Canonesas de la Cruz religious order in Lima whose name means Canonesses of the Cross She was visiting two of her nuns in Rome when Leo who served for decades in Peru was elected Tasayco added that having seen then-Bishop Robert Prevost constantly concerned about the neediest she felt his papacy would continue in that line including helping women to have a bigger voice in the church Sister Rosalba Hern ndez from Guadalajara Mexico waved a Mexican flag for the pope of the whole world She noted Leo s experience with religious orders he is an Augustinian should help him continue to give women religious more of a voice in the church He knows and understands our life she noted The pope will do much for us Valentina Rom n Calle aged in the red and white shirt of the Peruvian national soccer band sat on her father s shoulders The family have lived in Italy for four years and came to the square to get Leo s blessing because Valentina s older sister demands to undergo an operation The pope will do much for us the girls mother Elizabeth Calle declared We feel like we can really identify Other expatriates in the square also stated they felt that Leo understands their plight and will advocate for them as Pope Francis also did The faithful cheered as Leo called for an end to war and urged young people not to be afraid echoing one of the trademark speeches by St John Paul II We ask too much of him Peruvian tourist Kathy Fern ndez reported jokingly She commented she had been praying that Leo would protect her family inspire her -year-old son to grow in the Catholic faith help people find work so they can live honestly and promote world peace The calm pope As he walked through the th-century semicircular colonnade that appears to embrace St Peter s square and that Leo referenced in his first speech Thursday the Rev Michael Masteller of Los Angeles commented he was still processing all the emotions of watching the first Sunday blessing But largest part of all the Catholic priest reported he felt peaceful because of Leo s own quiet leadership He has this calmness Masteller explained I ve been feeling that and that gives me confidence Associated Press religion coverage receives advocacy through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content