Pope Francis Inauguration -Tuesday March 19,2013

 He is the first pontiff to take the name of Francis, choosing it to honour St Francis of Assisi, the 13th-Century son of an aristocrat who spurned a life of luxury to live with and for the poor.

Six heads of state, the US vice-president, Joe Biden, and other leaders as well as heads of many other faiths will be among the 130 delegations on the steps of the famous basilica


Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to cram into St Peter's Square and the surrounding streets in the Vatican City for the formal installation of Francis as the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics

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
Pope Francis is greeted by crowds as he arrives in St. Peter's Square for his inauguration Mass at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Pope Francis stepped off his popemobile to bless a disabled man in St. Peter's Square

 
Pope Francis kisses a child in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa applauds Pope Francis passing by, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013

 Pope Francis  is congratuled by German Chancellor Angela Merkel,after his inaugural Mass at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

 U.S. vice-president Joe Biden attends Pope Francis' installation Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends Pope Francis' installation Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Prelates attend Pope Francis' inaugural Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The Mass is scheduled to begin at 09:30 when the Pope goes down to the tomb of St Peter to venerate it.

Vatican releases Pope Francis' coat of arms, motto and ring 

The papal ring is in gold-plated silver and was originally offered to Paul VI in the 1960's

The coat of arms shows three symbols on a blue background: at the top, a sun with the letters IHS in the middle - the logo of the Jesuit Society - and underneath a five-point star and a lily, symbolising the Virgin Mary and St Joseph. 

The Latin motto beneath the crest is "miserando atque eligendo" - which refers to a Bible passage showing Jesus Christ's "mercy" in choosing Matthew, a tax collector, to be one of his disciples.
"The motto recalls Pope Francis's personal vocation and he wanted to keep it,"


Francis will then 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 ring is second-hand and is made of silver-plated gold, not the solid gold worn by Francis' predecessor.
Pope Francis receives the fisherman's ring to begin his papacy

 

 

An assistant puts the papal mitre to Pope Francis during his inauguration mass on March 19, 2013 at the Vatican.

The Mass formally begins in the main square, co-celebrated by around 180 clergymen, including Adolfo Nicolas, the superior general of Pope Francis' Jesuit order.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass during his inauguration in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Priests attending Pope Francis' installation Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican

Crowds watch on video monitors as Pope Francis reads the gospel during his inaugural Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 19, 2013.