Pope Leo XIV takes his first popemobile ride through St. Peter's Square ahead of installation

Pope Leo XIV took his first popemobile ride through St. Peter's Square on Sunday, greeting the tens of thousands of people who joined presidents, patriarchs and princes for the formal installation ceremony of history's first American pope that blends ancient ritual, evocative symbols and a nod to modern-day celebrity.

- 

The bells of St. Peter's Basilica tolled as Leo waved from the back of the open-topped truck that looped slowly through the square and then up and down the boulevard to it. A somewhat subdued crowd cheered "Viva il Papa" and waved plenty of Peruvian, American and Holy See flags — representing Leo's nationalities.

The popemobile tour has become synonymous with the papacy's global reach and mediatic draw, used at home and abroad to bring popes close to their flock. It was here that Francis took his last popemobile ride on Easter Sunday, and it was on the back of a popemobile that Francis' casket was brought across Rome last month to its final resting place.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, one of the last foreign officials to see Pope Francis before he died, paid his respects at the Argentine pope's tomb upon arriving in Rome late Saturday and headed the U.S. delegation honoring the Chicago-born Leo.