VATICAN CITY —Three days after stepping out as the newly elected successor to Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV again emerged from behind the red curtains to thunderous applause onto the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to offer his first Regina Caeli address as pontiff.
As they were for his election, both St. Peter’s Square and the Via Della Conciliazione were packed with the faithful, all cheering and eager to see and hear him deliver the prayer — one of four Marian antiphons — which replaces the traditional Angelus prayer during Eastertide.
“Our pope clearly has a deep sense of prayer. To hear the pope singing the beautiful prayers of the Regina Caeli, it moved my heart. It was so wonderful,” said Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, O.P., in meeting up with Rhode Island Catholic in St. Peter’s Square following the Regina Caeli.
Father Patrick previously served as a chaplain and instructor of theology at Providence College and as a parochial vicar at St. Pius V Church, Providence. Currently, he is the editor of Our Sunday Visitor, a host of the podcast Godsplaining, and a preacher of the USCCB’s Eucharistic Revival. He is also the co-author of Saint Dominic’s Way of Life: A Path to Knowing and Loving God and author of the devotional series My Daily Visitor, published by OSV.
Father Patrick made his way through the thick crowds and arrived in the square shortly before it began. He wanted to pray and witness the pope’s first Regina Caeli address.
He said that when Pope Leo XIV wished all the mothers in the crowd a “Happy Mother’s Day,” all the Italian mothers around him were so happy and pleased and reacted with much jubilation.
“He’s known to be a very kind man, a very gentle man, and a very calming presence. That’s what I loved about today, it was so prayerful.”
During his address, the pope called for an end to the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and on the India/Pakistan border.
“In today’s dramatic context of a third world war fought piecemeal ... I too appeal to the powerful of the world by repeating these ever-relevant words: never again war!” he said emphatically, to a roar of applause from the crowd.
Before he spoke about the conflicts of today, the pope first added context to his appeal for peace by recalling how World War II, which decimated Europe until it came to an end 80 years ago on May 8, caused “60 million deaths.”
“I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people,” he said, turning to the Russia-Ukraine war, urging that “every effort be made to reach a true, just, and lasting peace as soon as possible.
“May all prisoners be freed, and may the children be returned to their families,” he said, of those Ukrainian children forcibly separated from their families and taken across the border into Russia.
As for the current in Israel and the Gaza Strip, Pope Leo XIV focused on the severe decline in living conditions for those in Gaza.
“I am deeply pained by what is happening,” he said. “Let the fighting cease immediately, let humanitarian aid be provided to the exhausted civilian population, and may all hostages be released.”
Father Patrick said he was inspired by Pope Leo XIV’s appeals for mercy on the afflicted.
“Pope Leo is clearly following the best of Pope Francis, he’s capturing people’s hearts, he’s making appeals on the national stage, he’s very aware of the tensions and the wars and he’s calling for a miracle of peace from Our Lady. Everyone around me heard that appeal and you could tell that people were really praying for it.”
“At the same time, Pope Leo is clearly not afraid to be his own man, and as we go forward he’s going to continue to reveal to us who he is.”
The pontiff’s message was also a very spiritual one about the Gospel, calling all to listen to the voice of Christ the Good Shepherd.
Diocese of Providence Seminarian Nathan J. Ledoux, in formation at Pontifical North American College, Rome, found inspiration in listening to the pope’s address.
Pope Leo entrusted the Church and all vocations to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church.
“How beautiful it was to hear over 100,000 voices unite as we sang the “Regina Caeli” following his address,” he said, noting how the ancient prayer reminds us that Jesus is risen from the dead, and Mary our Mother, prays for us to Him: “Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia!”
Ledoux said that in citing Pope Saint Gregory the Great in his address, the Holy Father said that people “respond to the love of those who love them.”
“God’s love for us is a perennial message of our faith, to be sure, yet the great certitude and passion with which Pope Leo shared that message reignited that reality for me,” he said.
“Similarly, Pope Leo XIV spoke about vocations, and with great charisma told all young people: ‘Non abbiate paura!’ (Do not be afraid!) “Accept the invitation of the Church and of Christ, the Lord.”
Ledoux said that as a seminarian quickly approaching ordination to the diaconate, “I felt sincerely loved by Pope Leo, who fanned into flame the power of God’s love in my heart: love of Jesus in the Eucharist, love of the priesthood, and love for our beloved Church in Rhode Island where I will soon serve in ministry.”
