教皇弗朗西斯即将举行就职弥撒

 

Political and religious leaders from around the world are also attending the Mass in St Peter's Square, marking the official start of his papacy（教皇权）.

 

The first pontiff from the Americas, Francis has suggested he will take a more modest approach than predecessors⁴. 

 

Francis was elected by a conclave⁵（秘密会议） of cardinals⁶（红衣主教） last week to take over from Benedict XVI.

 

Benedict became the first pontiff in 600 years to abdicate⁷（退位，放弃） last month. Citing his age, 85, he said he could no longer continue in the post. 

 

 

The BBC's Katya Adler, at the Vatican, says nuns⁸, priests and papal tourists were queuing for hours early on Tuesday, with some pushing and squabbling as they waited for police to open the barricades⁹ to St Peter's Square.

 

Pope Francis is scheduled to leave his temporary residence at Casa Santa Marta shortly before 09:00 (08:00 GMT) and tour St Peter's Square on a papal vehicle for about 15 minutes.

 

He will then go into St Peter's Basilica to don his vestments and stop at the tomb of St Peter.

 

The Mass is scheduled to begin at 09:30 in the main square, co-celebrated by around 180 clergymen, including Adolfo Nicolas, the superior general of Pope Francis' Jesuit order.

 

After delivering a homily, Francis will be presented with his papal pallium made of lambs' wool and the "fisherman's ring" bearing the image of St Paul holding two keys.

 

The Pope has asked for some of the pomp to be stripped away. The ring is second-hand¹⁰ and is made of silver plated in gold, not the solid gold worn by his predecessor³.

 

The list of attendees for Monday's Mass includes US Vice-President Joe Biden and the spiritual head of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew.

 

He will be the first Orthodox patriarch to attend a papal inauguration Mass since the two branches of Christianity split more than 1,000 years ago. 

 

Thirty-three groups of guests from various Christian¹¹ Churches are expected in total, according to the Vatican, along with 16 delegations¹² from Jewish communities, as well as representatives of other faiths.

 

The BBC's James Robbins, in Rome, says the ceremony will certainly be magnificent but perhaps more modest than in the past, with the Pope's profile more that of a global parish priest than a papal monarch¹³.

 

The homily will be in Italian, but our correspondent says the Vatican has warned Pope Francis is likely to stray from his prepared text to stress his manifesto¹⁴（宣言，声明） of seeking forgiveness and focusing on help for the poor.

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