SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Today, Pope Leo XIV appeared again on the balcony of St. Peter's Square.
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POPE LEO XIV: (Non-English language spoken).
DETROW: He greeted the crowd of hundreds of thousands and led them in prayer.
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LEO XIV: (Singing in non-English language).
DETROW: It happened to be a preplanned day dedicated specifically to bands, and the mood was festive as Catholics celebrated a new pope, the first ever from the United States of America. NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose took it all in with me from NPR's broadcast booth on the edge of the square. Jason, it's our last pope chat from this location.
JASON DEROSE, BYLINE: It's a sad day (laughter).
DETROW: And I should say, I mentioned that it was a special day for bands. You could hear them thumping behind us as they make their way out of the square. But we heard from Pope Leo again today - not just the message that we just heard, but the first few things he said or said in homilies or appearances. What has been striking to you about these statements? What message has been consistent through them?
DEROSE: Well, you know, in his first sermon on that first mass, he really talked about sacrifice. He talked about the dangers of secularization or the dangers of the secular world and really called for a new commitment and the church's commitment to evangelism. Another big thing that I'm thinking about is that he spoke in English right before he gave the sermon in Italian. And, you know, I think it was just remarkable to an American pope speaking in English without an accent and then switching into Italian.
DETROW: Yeah.
DEROSE: But given the weight of that sermon and what he really talked about - the sacrifice - I think he feels the weight of this election, the weight of the office. And he feels called in the papacy, as he said in that sermon, to bear the cross and the blessing of the papacy.
DETROW: After today's prayers, Pope Leo briefly spoke from the balcony about world events. There's been a big question of how the new pope will use his position of leadership around the globe to weigh in on war and peace, on global politics. What did he say?
DEROSE: Well, he weighed in, of course, on the side of peace. He said he was saddened by what's happened in Gaza, called for aid to people suffering there and for the remaining hostages to be freed. He called for a lasting peace in Ukraine and urged that all prisoners be released and children be returned to their homes. And he said he was pleased to hear about the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan. And, of course, on a much less weighty note, he wished happy Mother's Day to all the moms in the countries celebrating Mother's Day today.
DETROW: So let's back up for a moment. We knew going into this that this would be a big story. That's why we came to Rome.
DEROSE: Exactly.
DETROW: This is an ancient institution with 1.4 billion members choosing a new spiritual leader. But then we heard that announcement from the balcony. We were both pretty stunned and surprised in that moment. We've now had a few days to reflect on this and the fact that the pope is an American. What do you think it means?
DEROSE: Well, I'm still getting my head around what it means to cover religion in America with an American pope. He's also, though, the bishop of Rome and the pontiff to the worldwide Catholic Church. And when you and I heard from cardinals earlier this week, they really made that clear, that he is no longer just an American. He's really a citizen of the world. And as someone who, you know, lived in Chicago for many years myself - I actually lived down the street from the seminary he went to.
DETROW: Wow.
DEROSE: And I think about him spending time in the libraries or grocery stores or bars that I did.
DETROW: Pope Leo now has a very big job in front of him with a lot of challenges. We could fill the entire show with this question. But top level, what is the state of the Catholic Church that Pope Leo is now in charge of? What are the biggest challenges he's going to face?
DEROSE: Well, you know, he - in an address to cardinals just the other day, he really focused in two areas. He told them that he chose the name Pope Leo because of a previous Pope Leo, Leo XIII, and his encyclical "Rerum Novarum." Now, that document offers really expansive social teachings on economic justice, human dignity, specifically related to the Industrial Revolution. And what he called for, I think, is a new "Rerum Novarum" to address the digital age and specifically to address artificial intelligence. So I think that he's feeling the weight of what that will mean for Catholicism. In fact, we talked to a cardinal last week who referred to that as the digital continent, something that the church has to figure out how to be involved in.
DETROW: Jason, sadly, we are both leaving Rome after this. Our bosses have told us to come home. But your beat now includes a pope, as we've been saying, from the United States. What are the biggest questions you have going forward? What are the storylines you're now thinking of reporting out?
DEROSE: Well, I think how he will handle his Americanism - will he sometimes speak in English if he's trying to get the attention of the American people? Will he speak English if he's trying to get the attention of President Trump? That's something I'm thinking a lot about. One of the themes he's already talked about in a couple of sermons is the evangelization of the contemporary world, that the margins are different for Pope Leo than they were for Francis. Francis talked about going to the margins - going to, say, where the refugees are or to where the impoverished people are. I'm hearing from Leo that the margins are the non-Christian Western world, perhaps, so an evangelization of places that might be nominally Christian. He spoke a bit about places that aren't quite Christian enough, perhaps. It will be interesting to see how people take that.
DETROW: NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose. The marching bands here are playing us off as we wrap up our St. Peter's Square coverage. Thanks so much.
DEROSE: You are welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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