The inauguration Mass on May 18 will be the formal installation ceremony where Pope Leo XIV will receive the Fisherman’s Ring and the pallium as symbols of his papal office. The “taking possession” ceremonies of the four papal basilicas are traditional acts that underscore the pope’s role as Bishop of Rome and head of the universal Church.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Prevost joined a Catholic religious order at the age of 20: the Order of St. Augustine, called Augustinians, founded in the 13th century. Instead of withdrawing from the world in isolated monasteries, members of this order traveled as mendicants to aid the poor as well as serve as missionaries and teachers.