Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle had the honor of placing the Ring of the Fisherman on the finger of Pope Leo XIV during his official installation as the 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
As reported by Andy Peñafuerte III on 24 Oras Weekend, the historic moment took place during a grand Mass at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, witnessed by around 250,000 devotees, including international pilgrims and world leaders such as U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Ring of the Fisherman symbolizes the Pope’s authority as the successor of St. Peter, the Church’s first leader and a fisherman by trade. During the ceremony, Pope Leo XIV also received the pallium—a white woolen vestment—signifying his role as the spiritual shepherd of the Catholic Church.
Before Mass, the new pope greeted the crowd from the popemobile, blessing infants and mingling with the faithful for about half an hour. In his homily, the 69-year-old pontiff called on the faithful to spread God’s love universally.