LIVE VIDEO — The Vatican celebrates the election of the new pope with an By Claudio Lavanga and Alastair Jamieson, NBC NewsTens of thousands gathered at the Vatican early Tuesday for the inauguration Mass of Pope Francis as new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.
Smartphone users? Watch the ceremony live here (http://nbcnews.to/16oXWVk)
World leaders including Vice President Joe Biden, bishops and pilgrims were among the expected crowd of more than 100,000 packing St. Peter’s Square and surrounding streets to witness the “Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome. (http://www.news.va/en/news/tomorrow-mass-of-inauguration-of-bishop-of-romes-p)"
A formal procession to the steps of St Peter’s Basilica was followed by the formal presentation to Francis of the pallium - a lamb’s wool scarf symbolizing the Jesus as a the good shepherd - and the fisherman’s ring, a specially-cast gold-plated silver symbol of St. Peter’s role as a fisherman.
Some ran to secure the best viewing spots in the square at first light Tuesday, when space was opened up on a first-come-first-served basis.
"We are originally from Argentina and we wanted to be here today because Pope Francis is from our home town. We were so proud when he was elected. We travelled overnight so we could be here today," Cirigliano Valetin, 51, an electrician who works in Salerno in southern Italy told Reuters.
"He is a simple, humble person, he is not like the untouchable popes, he seems like someone normal people can reach out to," said Valetin, who is originally from Buenos Aires.
Thousands of pilgrims RUN to st. Peter's square for a front raw seat for pope francis' installation mass. Mayhem. twitter.com/Lavanga/status������¢���¯���¿���½������¦ (http://t.co/FKT93oAYG7)
— ClaudioLavanga (@Lavanga) March 19, 2013 (https://twitter.com/Lavanga/status/313887306220195841)
The first pontiff from the Americas, Francis has already made it clear he intends to adopt a simpler and more modest style at the Vatican – a move reflected in Tuesday’s ceremony which is shorter than that of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, in 2005.
The former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis was elected by a conclave of cardinals on Wednesday (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/13/17290508-pope-francis-argentinas-cardinal-jorge-mario-bergoglio-is-new-catholic-leader). He is not only the first non-European leader of the Roman Catholic Church in 1,300 years, but also the first Jesuit pope.
The ceremony has also been shortened to two hours after a three-hour service in 2005 when Benedict began his papacy.Slideshow: The election of Pope Francis (http://slideshow.nbcnews.com/id/51147164/displaymode/1247/?wbSlideShowId=51147164&wbSection=news&wbSlideShowTeaseId=51147215)(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss-130312-electing-pope/ss-130319-pope-election-tease.photoblog600.jpg) (http://slideshow.nbcnews.com/id/51147164/displaymode/1247/?wbSlideShowId=51147164&wbSection=news&wbSlideShowTeaseId=51147215)Gregorio Borgia / APCardinals from around the world gathered in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.Launch slideshowThe heads of other faiths were among the audience, including Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul - the first time the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians attends a Roman pope's inaugural Mass since the Great Schism between western and eastern Christianity in 1054 (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/18/17361020-once-in-a-millenium-move-orthodox-patriarch-to-attend-popes-installation?lite).
Among the political leaders attending was international outcast Robert Mugabe (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/18/17357139-outcast-ruler-robert-mugabe-dodges-eu-travel-ban-for-popes-installation?lite), the Zimbabwean president who has been under a European Union travel ban since 2002 because of allegations of vote rigging and human rights abuses.
On Wednesday, Francis will receive more than 30 delegations representing other Christian churches, as well as the Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain religions, a Vatican spokesman said.
He will address foreign ambassadors to the Vatican on Friday and have lunch with Benedict -- their first meeting since the conclave and the first of its kind in modern times (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/15/17323928-church-scandals-likely-to-top-agenda-at-unprecedented-meeting-of-popes?lite) -- on Saturday before leading celebrations the next day for Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week leading to Easter.
Reuters contributed to this report.Related:Full coverage of Pope Francis from NBC News (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/vatican)Outcast ruler Robert Mugabe dodges travel ban for pope's installation (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/18/17357139-outcast-ruler-robert-mugabe-dodges-eu-travel-ban-for-popes-installation?lite)Impromptu appearance, off-the-cuff remarks: Pope's Sunday surprises delight (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/17/17345676-impromptu-appearance-off-the-cuff-address-popes-sunday-surprises-delight?lite)This story was originally published on Tue Mar 19, 2013 4:07 AM EDT
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