Leo XIV's appeal to the powerful: 'Never again war. Cease fire in Gaza, Ukraine and Kashmir".

Meanwhile, a ten-second video has gone viral on the web in which Pope Leo XIV shakes the hand of a faithful, who had approached him, while in a car. The Pontiff greeted the faithful-fan with a 'Forza Roma'. Already in recent days the Giallorossi sympathies of Robert Francis Prevost, a fan of tennis, football, and Chicago White Sox baseball, had been made known by a prelate friend of his.

Pope Leo XIV this morning shortly after 10 o'clock, as a surprise, walked across the square to enter the Holy Office quarters. Astonishment among the faithful lined up to enter St Peter's Square. Then he went to the Vatican Grottoes to celebrate Holy Mass at the altar near the tomb of Peter. The pontiff concelebrated with the Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, Father Alejandro Moral Anton. At the end of the Mass, the Pope stopped in prayer at the tombs of his Predecessors and in front of the niche of the Pallii. The niche is called 'of the Pallii' because inside a bronze urn, a gift of Benedict XIV Lambertini, the pallii are kept.

Meanwhile, at least 150,000 people are expected in St. Peter's Square for the Regina Coeli of Leo XIV. At 12 noon the Pope will recite the Regina Coeli prayer with the faithful from the central Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. The prayer, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, replaces the Angelus from Easter Sunday until Pentecost Day, and is the first for Prevost as Pontiff.

Access to the square is controlled on three fronts, in Via della Conciliazione, in Piazza del Sant'Uffizio and arriving from Piazza Risorgimento. Once passed, the last step is the metal detectors placed under the colonnade ready for the arrival of more than 150,000 faithful. A large number of believers take the opportunity to visit the inside of the Basilica, passing through the Holy Door, and then go out, stopping in the square to take their seats while waiting to attend the prayer.

Meanwhile, from the United States, the Pontiff's brother, John Prevost, arrived in Rome. "I still haven't seen Robert. We will meet later. In the next few days I think we will eat together and go somewhere,' said John Prevost, who was in Rome until Tuesday to meet his brother. He said that the new Pope left home very early and started travelling the world in the missions. Between them the habit of talking often on the phone remained.

They spoke the evening before the Conclave began and immediately after the election. And he related that when Cardinal Prevost became Pope he was in Chicago, in front of the television like the rest of the world. And at first he thought he had misheard the name. Then, however, when he saw him appear from the Loggia he felt a very strong emotion. "I am really proud of him. Ever since we were children we knew he would become a priest, but we certainly didn't think he would be Pope,' he told Il Messaggero. His "is a very important task, because he is the first American Pontiff and for this reason he will have the eyes of the world on him".

On Saturday Leo immediately surprised the faithful by going to Gennazzano and making a surprise visit to the shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in the small village of just over five thousand souls. A symbolic place, guarded by Augustinians like himself, where Leo goes every time he receives an important appointment. He did it as a presbyter and has continued to do so as a bishop and as a cardinal and, now, as Pope. Last year, on 25 April, it was he who celebrated Mass on the occasion of the Feast of the 'Coming' of the Mother of Good Counsel. A private visit that, inevitably, turned into a moment of celebration for the whole country. On his return to the capital, the Pope visited the tomb of Pope Francis in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, paused in prayer and placed a white rose on the tombstone.

On Monday, the Pope will meet during an audience with journalists and cameramen who followed the phases of the Conclave and his election. On Sunday, 18 May, there will be the official inauguration of the Pontiff. On Saturday, the Pope met with the cardinals who elected him in the new Synod Hall at the Vatican, outlining his pontificate. A path in the sign of continuity with Bergoglio, as he had already made clear in his speech from the Loggia delle Benedizioni, but also ready to face the new challenges of the new industrial revolution and artificial intelligence.