In his advocacy of the poor, migrants and a more open church, many people see the new pope as a continuation of his predecessor.

Leo XIV held his first Mass as pope in the Sistine Chapel on Friday, in what was a private service for the 132 voting cardinals who elected him as the 267th leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics a day earlier.

Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass in the Sistine Chapel where he was elected less than 24 hours earlier, warning of the dangers caused by a lack of faith and hoping the Catholic Church could be a beacon lighting the world's "dark nights".