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Pope Leo XIV Celebrates His Inaugural Mass; 2 Dead, 19 Injured After Mexican Navy Ship Hits Brooklyn Bridge; FBI: Fertility Clinic Blast "Intentional Act of Terrorism". Aired 5-6 am ET

Aired May 18, 2025 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: -- we're witnessing now this inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: OK, so we can go -- there to both of you as we listen in to this inaugural mass for Pope Leo XIV.

All right, I want to bring in back again from Houston, Texas, CNN Vatican Analyst Katie McGrady.

So, as we've been watching this portion of the ceremony, you could see Pope Leo visibly touched as he received that ring. Take us through your reaction, watching his reaction to all of this.

KATIE PREJEAN MCGRADY, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: I just keep going back to this idea that his life completely changed in the matter of a few days. Can you imagine you go into the conclave and then a week and a half later you're riding through the Popemobile, which of course was such an iconic thing that we've all been talking about. The last time we saw Pope Francis was in the Popemobile on Easter Sunday and then his casket carried through the streets in a Popemobile and now our new Holy Father.

So, I'm sure the weight of all of it and in the same way that when he first stepped on the balcony just a week and a half ago and you could kind of see he was a little choked up and he was trying not to become filled with that emotion or visibly break down. But of course, the cameras were zoomed in. I was also struck by and it's just kind of, you know, fun facts of the Catholic Church that we've all heard in the past couple of weeks.

Cardinal Tagle, who was one of the papabile, he had been on a bunch of the lists from the Philippines, presented him the fisherman's ring.

Now, no one installs the Pope. He kind of installs himself, but members of the church, as he's being greeted right now by members of the faithful. So, from lay people all the way up to cardinals who represent various offices. The Pope is kind of pushed into his office by people. Cardinal Tagle handed him that ring. Cardinal Tagle was sitting next to him in the conclave. We don't know if he voted for him. Maybe he did. We won't know that vote breakdown, but his brother Cardinal handed him that ring.

BRUNHUBER: Let's listen to the homily as the Pope is just beginning it now. Let's listen in here.

POPE LEO XIV: For the Jubilee, brothers and sisters, I greet all of you with a heart full of gratitude at the beginning of the ministry which has been entrusted to me. St. Augustine wrote, Lord, you have made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in you. In these days, we have experienced particularly intense emotions. The death of Pope Francis filled our hearts with sadness.

In those difficult hours, we felt like the crowds that the gospel says were like sheep without a shepherd. Yet, on Easter Sunday, we received his final blessing, and in the light of the resurrection, we experienced the days that followed in the certainty that the Lord -- Lord never abandons his people, but gathers them when they are scattered and guards them as a shepherd guards his flock.

In this spirit of faith, the College of Cardinals met for the conclave. Coming from different backgrounds and experiences, we placed in God's hands our desire to elect the new successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, a shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and at the same time looking into the future in order to confront the questions, concerns, and challenges of today's world.

Accompanied by your prayers, we could feel the working of the Holy Spirit who was able to bring to us into harmony like musical instruments so that our heartstrings could vibrate in a single melody.

I was chosen without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy.

[05:05:14]

Walking with you on the path of God's love, for he wants us all to be united in one family, love and unity. These are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.

We see this in today's Gospel, which takes us to the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus began the mission he received from his Father, to be a fisher of humanity in order to draw it up from the waters of evil and death.

Walking along the shore, he had called Peter and the other first disciples to be like him, fishers of men. Now, after the resurrection, it is up to them to carry on this mission, to cast their nets again and again, to bring the hope of the Gospel into the waters of the world and to sail the seals of life so that all may experience God's embrace.

How can Peter carry out this task? The Gospel tells us that it is possible only because his own life was touched by the infinite and unconditional love of God, even in the hour of his failure and denial.

For this reason, when Jesus addresses Peter, the Gospel uses the Greek word "Agapao," which refers to the love that God has for us, to the offering of himself without reserve and without calculation, whereas the verb used in Peter's response describes the love of friendship that we have for one another.

Consequently, when Jesus asks Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He is referring to the love of the Father. It is as if Jesus said to him, only if you have known and experienced this love of God, which never fails, will you be able to feed my lambs. Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same more, that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters.

Peter thus entrusted with the task of loving more and giving his life for the flock. The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity, and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving, as Jesus did.

The Apostle Peter himself tells us that Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone. Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him.

On the contrary, he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters and to walk alongside them. For all of us are living stones, called through our baptism to build God's house in fraternal communion, in the harmony of the Spirit, in the coexistence of diversity.

In the words of St. Augustine, the Church consists of all those who are in harmony with their brothers and sisters and who love their neighbor.

[05:10:04]

Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.

In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, by violence, by prejudice, by the fear -- by the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the world's resources and marginalizes the poorest.

For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world with humility and joy, look at Christ, come closer to Him, welcome His Word that enlightens and consoles. Listen to His offer of love and become His one family. In the one Christ, we are one.

This is the path to follow together among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of goodwill in order to build a new world where peace reigns.

This is the missionary spirit that must animate us, not closing ourselves off in our small groups nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God's love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.

Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love. The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today, if this criterion were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?

With the light and the spirit of the Holy -- with the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a church founded on God's love, a sign of unity, a missionary church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the Word, allows itself to be made restless by history and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.

Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.

(APPLAUSE)

POPE LEO XIV: The Credo.

BRUNHUBER: There it was. We've just been listening to the homily of Pope Leo XIV at his inaugural mass in St. Peter's Square. Of course, the ceremony formally installs the first American pope as the 267th pontiff. And prayers will be offered in multiple languages, reflecting the diversity of the church's 1.4 billion members around the world.

All right, I'm joined now by CNN Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb and by Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, Editor of Our Sunday Visitor magazine.

So you've been listening there. Some of the words that stood out to me there, the pope saying, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother. And he said, this is the hour for love. Christopher, what stood out to you?

LAMB: Well, Kim, that line where Pope Leo said, I was chosen not through any merits of my own, but I come to you as a brother and a servant. When he said those words, I heard an applause in the crowd. It was a very powerful moment. That's one of the lines that really struck me.

[05:15:09]

And this emphasis that he doesn't want to be a pope who is an autocrat. He said Peter, as in speaking of himself, should not be an autocrat, should not lord it over people. I also was struck by the line about critiquing the economic paradigm, he said, that squanders the earth's resources.

So, some very poignant lines in that homily from Pope Leo, setting out, I think, first and foremost, the style of pope that he wants to be. BRUNHUBER: Now, I'll go to Fr. Patrick. Your thoughts, what stood out to you?

FATHER PATRICK MARY BRISCOE, EDITOR, OUR SUNDAY VISITOR: Well, we have a beautiful nod, we can see Pope Leo drawing from his tradition as an Augustinian. Right at the top of that homily, we got a beautiful line from St. Augustine's Confessions about the restless heart, looking for rest in Christ.

This homily struck me, not as a program for the papacy, but as a great spiritual encouragement to pick up this missionary call and to go out into the world. You know, Pope Leo chose his name, of course, to engage the revolution of the current moment. Part of that is the development of AI, but part of that is all the other shifts in our culture and in our politics today.

And we're seeing -- we're seeing Pope Leo navigate that through his predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, and with the guide, ultimately, of St. Augustine of Hippo. So, I expect to hear many more quotes from these two great thinkers through his pontificate, but it's giving us a kind of dynamic sense. These were both men that went out, that lived and led in periods of great change in the Church.

So, it's not a surprise to see Pope Leo lean on them and use them to develop this sense of, again, going out and develop this missionary promise, this missionary proposal.

BRUNHUBER: One of the recurring themes there was unity, bringing the world together, but the question has to be asked, how does he achieve that, I guess, when the Catholic Church itself is so divided over basic issues of inclusion, over LGBTQ people, for instance, about the role of women? These are some unity issues that the Pope himself will have to grapple with.

BRISCOE: Well, if anyone can do it, Pope Leo can, we have a confidence in that because the cardinals chose him for the task, and we really believe that they were guided by the Holy Spirit to do this.

Now, he has a reputation personally as being a man who is very patient, very thoughtful, very consultative. This is not a leader who's going to be reactive. It's clear that he's not eschewing Pope Francis' legacy. We saw another beau -- we saw beautiful words of praise and appreciation for Pope Francis at the beginning of this homily. So, I think what we have here is the kind of man that people will trust, that people will find as a spiritual father, and that will be able to speak, I think, to different factions of the church, in fact, with great ease.

BRUNHUBER: All right, well, listen, we'll come back to you a little later. Thank you both, Christopher Lamb and Father Patrick.

We'll be right back. Please stay with CNN as we cover this historic inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:31]

BRUNHUBER: All right, I want to go back to our top story. The inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV. I want to bring in CNN Religion contributor Father Edward Beck, joining us from Westchester, New York.

We heard from the Pope some powerful words in that homily he delivered a few minutes ago. What stood out to you?

FR. EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGION CONTRIBUTOR: I think the whole message of unity in the midst of our diversity. He began with this beautiful example of the conclave and the cardinals needing to come together even in their differences to elect him. And he had this beautiful quote he said like heart strings that come together to play a single melody.

So, he began by that model of what the cardinals even in their differences needed to do. And then he went on to say that the Pope is not meant to be an autocrat but is called to serve alongside others. He said that we're all living stones and called to build diversity.

And so this whole emphasis that we need to come together but we retain our differences and our distinctiveness. And he said that if you have the United Church one that comes together in communion what a wonderful model that could be for this divided world. He said it can be 11 of unity and communion and fraternity because he spoke again about all of the division in the world.

But if we don't show the unity then how can we expect the world to have this unity? And he said with all women and men of goodwill that's where peace will reign. Do not cancel out differences. This is an hour for love. If all had this peace then peace would reign in the world. So, I think he's calling for this -- this leaven of harmony as he called it, humanity. And that the church must model that if we expect the world to model.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, that's right. And talking about unity in the divisions of the church I mean there's been a lot of discussion over the past couple of weeks about whether his papacy will take a more progressive or conservative direction under his leadership. What -- what signals have you seen perhaps in what he just said and what he said in his previous homily so far about what Pope Leo's sort of theological approach to that will be in terms of whether it will be more conservative or more progressive on some of these issues?

[05:25:11]

BECK: Well, Kim, some of the earlier comments from 2012 that he made about LGBTQ people and gender theory seemed a bit conservative or not willing to move the ball at all. And that was before Pope Francis was elected before he worked with Pope Francis before Pope Francis' real vision of inclusion and meeting the transgendered people and his outreach and the blessing of members of same-sex couples.

And so, this pope has really come along in an evolution with his predecessor Pope Francis, he's worked closely with him and he has seen that Pope Francis has stressed this outreach and this outreach to women appointing women to major Vatican positions saying that we need more women in leadership.

Now, the whole question of women deacons which would be an ordination of women because deacons get ordained not to the priesthood but it would be an ordination to the deaconate, he has made a statement, this Pope Leo where he said that it wouldn't necessarily solve all of the problems but he seems open to continuing the conversation because the synod wanted to have the conversation. Could this be a ministry that could be extended to women to kind of further foster the rising of their profile?

And so, I think these things will come back. I don't think the door is closed to continuing the conversation around gay people, around women, married men is something that I think is going to come back. There was some talk of Pope Francis allowing men to be married in remote regions like the Amazon where they don't have access to the Eucharist or to the sacraments that maybe the ordination of men of approved virtue there could happen.

We already have married men from other traditions who've come into Roman Catholicism with wives and children. So, there's a precedent for all of this to continue to be looked at and talked about. And I think what we heard in this homily was that this Pope is at least open to talking about it and considering these issues in conversation with others.

BRUNHUBER: Some weighty issues he'll be grappling with. Really appreciate getting your analysis of what he said so far. Many thanks to you, Fr. Edward Beck in New York as we continue to cover our top story, the inaugural Mass for Pope Leo XIV.

All right, I want to bring in now Katie McGrady who's a CNN Vatican Analyst and she is in Houston, Texas.

Good to see you again. So Katie, you often speak about living the Catholic faith in the modern world. So, what elements of Pope Leo's homily today resonates the most, do you think, with everyday Catholics?

MCGRADY: He started with a quote that a lot of just every day, normal Catholics have heard before, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee." It's one of the most famous St. Augustine lines. As an Augustinian, I wasn't surprised he quoted it.

It was what he said at the end. He referenced back to the restlessness. And he said we should let the history of the world make us restless. And I -- that made me a little uncomfortable for a moment because I said, you know what, he's not wrong. The history of this moment is kind of making me a little queasy at times. There's war and there's all this division and there's this political and economic unrest. That makes me uneasy.

And then I think back to what our Holy Father just said, the love of God is what actually brings us any sort of peace, any sort of unity to tackle these big issues like Fr. Beck was just talking about to start from a place of charity and love. So, in this restless, historical moment, we can find rest in the Lord.

And as a good spiritual father would, he brought us back to that surrounded by, I should point out, global leaders who also heard the same thing. I can't help but think that J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio who are in the midst of negotiations and trying to bring peace around the world are they now challenged to be a little restless with how things are in the world and where can they bring that peace, where can they -- they broker that peace. Pope Leo has invited people to the table to have those conversations

BRUNHUBER: When you saw J.D. Vance flash there on the screen, that was your thought. When I saw J.D. Vance up on the screen, I immediately thought about the Pope's other comments that he was making about diversity, about the environment. I mean we know Pope Francis had conflicts with President Trump over those issues and other things, things like the treatment of migrants for instance.

[05:30:01]

Do you think Pope Leo will have the same conflicts and deal with them in a similarly, you know, relatively confrontational way or does he have a different way of dealing with it do you think?

MCGRADY: He doesn't strike me as a confrontational guy. He strikes me as a thoughtful guy. So, while he might tweet J.D. Vance is wrong because he was wrong, and the Pope now and the Cardinal then was able to say that, I think he'll approach it in, let's sit down and have a cup of coffee. Let's sit down and share a meal. Let's actually discuss this and see where we see eye and where some fraternal correction might be needed and where we can engage in a conversation.

But I don't think he will mince his words. We know from a number of people who know him well that he is a thoughtful man who listens closely. But once he makes his decision, once he has something to say, he says it and he's quite determined in what he said.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how those dynamics play out as his papacy unfolds. I really appreciate getting your thoughts on this. Katie McGrady, thank you so much as we continue to cover this inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV.

We'll be right back. Please stay with us.

(POPE LEO XIV SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: All right, coming back to our top story, the inaugural mass of Pope Leo the 14th. Let's go back to CNN Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb in Rome.

Christopher, an eventful day, to say the least. Take us through the most memorable moments so far.

[05:35:05] LAMB: Well, there's been a number to consider. I mean, the first, of course, was when Pope Leo came out onto the square for the first time in the Popemobile. The second, I think, for me, was the placing of the pallium on the mount onto the square for the first time in the Popemobile.

The second, I think, for me, was the placing of the pallium on Pope Leo. The pallium, of course, a symbol of the authority of the Pope and, of course, also being given the ring of office, the fisherman's ring that he received. At both those moments, when he received those symbols of office, the crowd burst into applause.

And then, of course, we heard from Pope Leo in his homily, in his reflection, and there were some very, I think, important lines in that reflection from Pope Leo. He emphasized that he didn't feel he was elected Pope by any merits of his own and that he wishes to be a servant and a brother. The crowd, again, applauding when they heard that.

He also said that, as Pope, he will not seek to be an autocrat, lording it over people, but he wants to work with the entire church. And he also critiqued the economic paradigm, he said, that squanders the earth's resources and marginalize the poorest. So, we saw in that reflection from Pope Leo, first of all, the style of Pope that he wants to be.

He wants to emphasize humility, very much in line with Pope Francis there. He doesn't wish to see himself as superior. He also wants the church, though, to be missionary, to go out, to be conscious of the poorest, those who are marginalized.

So, that's important social action that he wants the Catholic Church to do. He doesn't want the church to be looking inwards and turning in on itself. He wants the church to be missionary.

So, we saw that from Pope Leo. So, really, some very memorable moments as Leo XIV, the first American Pope, is inaugurated here in St Peter's.

BRUNHUBER: All right, I appreciate that. Christopher Lamb in Rome, thanks so much.

(POPE LEO XIV SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. We are continuing to follow the breaking news out of New York, where a Mexican Navy training ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge. The mayor says at least two people were killed and 19 others injured. Mexico's president says she's deeply saddened and has expressed her condolences to the families of the victims. The two people who died fell from one of the ship's masts, according to a law enforcement official. Video showed that both masts hit the underside of the bridge and broke apart as the vessel passed through. More than 100 fire and emergency personnel responded to the scene on Saturday night.

Flavio Moreira, who witnessed the accident, spoke to CNN earlier about what he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLAVIO MOREIRA, EYEWITNESS: Until the bow actually hit the bridge, we didn't -- I don't feel like anyone discerned the danger of the situation. So, yeah, it hit it, and there was a little bit of commotion, but also a lot of people started recording, like me, because we just didn't -- it was just such a surreal, almost cinematic experience of just happening in front of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's Mark Morales is in New York with the latest developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK MORALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest we're hearing from city officials is that two are dead after a boat struck the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday night. This happened when a Mexican naval training ship that was in town lost power due to a mechanical issue, and it was the current that dragged the boat underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. As you're seeing in a lot of videos that have been posted, the top of the mast actually struck the very bottom of the bridge. And as we've said, two are dead. Two others are in critical condition, and of those, 19 in all were considered injured.

Now, investigators have the task of going through to figure out exactly what happened here. What was it that caused this mechanical issue to happen in the first place? They're going to be talking to anybody that was on the boat. They're going to be talking to any eyewitnesses looking for videos, anything that's going to help them piece together what actually happened here.

The New York City Police Commission are also saying that the NTSB is going to be investigating this incident as well. And all this happening while the city had to actually judge the integrity of the Brooklyn Bridge after the accident. Building investigators came by. They deemed the structure to be safe, and traffic was soon reopened in both directions.

Again, two are left dead from this incident. There's still two others in critical condition, and 19 altogether. And investigators are now going to be going through to figure out exactly what else happened.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[05:40:01]

BRUNHUBER: A source tells CNN police believe the person responsible for an explosion that damaged a Southern California fertility clinic was killed in the blast. A car explosion rocked Palm Springs Saturday morning, killing one person and injuring four others. The FBI says it was a deliberate act. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKIL DAVIS, FBI ASSISTANCE DIRECTOR AT LOS ANGELES FIELD OFFICE: Make no mistake, this is an intentional act of terrorism. The FBI is investigating it as such. Our Joint Terrorism Task Force is here, working in lockstep with the Palm Springs Police Department, the ATF, and a whole host of agencies that I've already mentioned. If anyone has information regarding this incident, I urge them to call 1-800- CALL-FBI for any tips that might assist us in our investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Eyewitnesses who were near the clinic when that blast happened described what they saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BEAUMIER, EYEWITNESS TO EXPLOSION: Well, I work at one of the resorts here in Palm Springs, and I was traveling by my bicycle on my way to work. And as I was turning the corner off of Indian Canyon where this happened, the explosion happened. It knocked me off my bike. It was that big of an explosion. And I could hear windows shattering all around me. A lot of cars on the street screeched to a stop.

NIMA TABRIZI, EYEWITNESS TO EXPLOSION: All of a sudden, we hear a big boom. Something serious happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The doctor who runs the clinic says the office space was damaged, but the IVF lab and the area where embryos are stored were both untouched.

Palestinians say more than 150 people have been killed since Israel launched its new offensive in Gaza. More than 450 others have been wounded as Israel presses ahead with Operation Gideon's Chariots, which got underway on Friday.

Despite the offensive, Israel and Hamas have resumed their cease-fire talks in Qatar. The new offensive is making the bad humanitarian situation worse, with food prices skyrocketing, many people scrambling to flee to southern Gaza, according to witnesses.

Meanwhile, Arab leaders are holding a summit in Baghdad, where they called for the fighting to end and aid deliveries to resume. No aid has entered Gaza in 11 weeks because of Israel's blockade.

The U.S. president will speak to Russia's president on Monday, according to Donald Trump. He posted that on social media, that the phone call will be about stopping the bloodbath in Ukraine. He says he believes a peace deal won't happen without his direct intervention. The Kremlin spokesperson told Russian state media that they're preparing for the conversation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Rome on Saturday, who pledged his continued support of Ukraine. Zelenskyy wasn't invited to be part of the Putin-Trump call, despite his pleas for direct peace talks with Russia's president. Donald Trump's former national security advisor tells us what he thinks will happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think it's what both Putin and Trump want, although for very different reasons. In fact, I think what both of them really want is a meeting. And maybe one outcome of this phone call, as Trump said, the Middle East will be to try and get a meeting together as soon as possible. Trump wants the meeting because he'll be the center of attention. And what better place could he be? Putin wants the meeting for several reasons. He thinks he can manipulate Trump. He believes he has manipulated him successfully since Trump's inauguration. And there are other advantages, too.

No pesky Volodymyr Zelenskyy, no pesky European leaders, just Putin and Trump. That is exactly the scenario that Putin wants, ex-KGB agent that he is. It's not a guarantee Putin will succeed, but that is the scenario he has been looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: We'll be right back with more of our top story, the inauguration mass of Pope Leo. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:47:06]

BRUNHUBER: All right, you're looking at live pictures now of Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass in St. Peter's Square. The ceremony formally installs him as the 267th pontiff. Prayers have been offered in multiple languages during the mass, including Greek, Arabic, and Chinese, reflecting the diversity of the church's 1.4 billion members around the world. Tens of thousands of people, they're crammed into Vatican City to witness this historic event, and many world leaders are also there.

All right, we'll continue now covering this with Katie McGrady, CNN Vatican Analyst. She's in Houston, Texas.

Katie, I just want to pull out one quote from the Pope's homily, which I -- which I thought was -- was just really beautiful. "I was chosen without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God's love, for he wants us all to be united in one family." Just beautiful words and the message behind that as well.

MCGRADY: I love that he says no merit of his own, and yet he kind of has the perfect resume to be Pope, but it shows his humility. We're also seeing a holy father consecrate the Eucharist, and this is his primary job, is to bring Christ to the people, and so his extensive resume has led him to this moment, as well as, I think, that humility, that he is the servant of the servants of God, that he is a man who wants to proclaim the gospel, and I think he juxtaposes himself against global leaders, that a shepherding attitude, a servant leadership mindset, a willingness to humble yourself in the face of a challenge or a difficulty.

It's pretty profound, and I think it's one that he's able to offer that example, and then through that resume that he says it's no merit of my own, but certainly his resume would have led to this, we're able to see, well, you can work hard, you can study well, you can get your doctorate, you can serve the church. It's not just that you're hankering to be Pope, but that it's the Lord then calls you into this continued service.

BRUNHUBER: From a young person's perspective, I mean, the Pope is relatively young, one of the first issues he talked about was A.I., he's an avid sports fan, I mean, how do you think that young Catholics are responding to his messages so far?

MCGRADY: I'm telling you, it is a Leonine-era moment. There are stickers and memes and t-shirts, and people are loving him, I think because of that relatability. You brought up he's a sports fan, and there is the big dust-up Cubs versus Sox, and his brother very quickly clarified, and I love that.

I lived in Chicago for a while, I was a Cubs fan, so we do disagree on that, but I immediately felt this connection to him. He met with -- I'm not a tennis fan, so forgive me if I get it wrong, but I believe he met with Sinner, who's like the number one player.

[05:50:05]

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, Italian.

MCGRADY: So, it was -- well, there's a headline, right? Pope meets sinner, and not only is that something the Pope is doing regularly, as you should, but also in this funny moment, but in a very Leo way, he's like, no, no, we probably shouldn't pass the ball back and forth, I don't want to break anything. So, he's also this mild-mannered man.

So, I do think there's this great connection. I work with young people in some of the work that I do and they've all wanted to talk about him. Everywhere I've gone in the past week and a half, that's all anybody wants to talk about both -- I checked into my hotel last night and the guys like I'm not Catholic But you know, I'm going to watch that Pope stuff in the morning. He had no idea I was going to be doing hits for it upstairs. But yes, there's this moment of connection.

BRUNHUBER: That's a great point because I mean certainly the -- the Catholic family has some 1.4 billion people but the majority of the world isn't Catholic despite that so many people around the world are tuning into this and watching this because the Pope's outsized influence around the world whether you agree with his religion or not.

I want to ask you about something that he said in -- in the -- in the homily. I'll read this. This is the missionary spirit that must animate us not closing ourselves off in our small groups not feeling superior to the world. He said that that missionary spirit, but he also called on -- on doing this without sort of what he called religious propaganda. I mean, how does he walk that line? How do Catholics walk that line under -- under his papacy?

MCGRADY: That was a direct throwback to Pope Francis those of us who watched very closely the Francis papacy remember one of the things that he said before he got elected was that we could not have a self- referential Church. And so Leo saying we cannot close ourselves off. We can't become this navel-gazing body who thinks well, I have all the answers and I'm going to give them to other people. It is the missionary spirit that animates us to step outside of ourselves, to accompany others and to have those conversations and that's where it starts. It comes not from a place of proselytizing. I've got it. You want it? So, sit down shut up and listen to me.

It comes from a place of, I have this joy of the gospel and I'd like to talk to you about it. I'm not going to shove it down your throat. I'm not going to tell you, you have to convert the first second you sit down with me. But I'm going to invite you into a conversation and Pope Leo has been doing that his entire career.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah.

MCGRADY: And he will continue to do that.

BRUNHUBER: And we'll be watching. Katie McGrady, thanks again for your thoughts really appreciate it.

MCGRADY: Absolutely.

BRUNHUBER: And we'll be right back. Stay with us.

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[05:56:27]

BRUNHUBER: All right. You're looking at live pictures of the inaugural mass for Pope Leo the 14th. The ceremony formally installs him as the 267th pontiff prayers have been offered in multiple languages during the mass including Greek, Arabic, and Chinese, reflecting the diversity of the church's 1.4 billion members around the world.

I'm Kim Brunhuber. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. CNN THIS MORNING is next.

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