World leaders and tens of thousands of Catholic followers gathered Tuesday in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican for the installation Mass of Pope Francis. In his address, the newly installed pope urged supporters to protect the environment and the poor, the Associated Press reported.
“Today amid so much darkness we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others,” Francis told the crowd, which the Vatican estimated to be as large as 200,000. “To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope, it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds.”
Here are photos from Francis’ inauguration Mass:
Pope Francis is driven through the crowd prior to his inaugural Mass, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. Francis thrilled tens of thousands of people on Tuesday gathered for his installation Mass, taking a long round-about through St. Peter’s Square and getting out of his jeep to bless a disabled man in a wheelchair in the crowd. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
Faithful fill St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A cardinal sits in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Francis sits at the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica during his inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis kisses a child in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
Faithful gather in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
Pope Francis salutes cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
Nuns walk through a tunnel leading towards St. Peter’s Square to attend the inauguration of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Priests line up in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ installation Mass at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Francis drinks from a chalice as he celebrates his installation Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
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