ROME – Pope Leo XIV Sunday paid visits to the papal basilicas of St. John Lateran, where he was formally installed as Bishop of Rome, and St. Mary Major, assuring Romans of his closeness as their pastor, and stressing the need to walk together in unity.
Speaking during his May 25 Mass at St. John Lateran, the pope told Romans, “I assure you that I love you, that I desire only to enter into your service and to place my own poor abilities, the little I have and am, at the service of all.”
“I too express my affection for you and my desire to share with you, on our journey together, our joys and sorrows, our struggles and hopes,” he said.
There are four papal basilicas in Rome – St. Peter’s in the Vatican; St. John Lateran, which is the official seat of the Bishop of Rome and is attached to the Rome diocesan curial and vicariate...
