The enthronement of Pope Leo XIV ✨

A ceremony steeped in symbols and meaning, forged over two millennia of Church history

A Thread 🧵 unveiling the most powerful rite in the world

Unfolding today before our eyes Because even in what is now a small State, the Pope is in some sense still a King 👑

That’s why it’s called an “enthronement”

The first Pope to be crowned was Nicholas I in 858

The last was Paul VI in 1963

‼️ Rome, today

The Jubilee of the Confraternities turned back Rome’s clock by 2,000 years

Spanish photographer Daniel Valencia gave us the most breathtaking shots of Catholic tradition meeting the Roman Empire

A Thread 🧵 1. ✨ The famous “Cachorro” of Sevilla

It happened exactly 1,700 years ago

An extraordinary moment in Catholic Church

The Council of Nicaea ✨

Remember this name

Pope Leo XIV may make it the site of his first apostolic journey

A Thread🧵 into the heart this history The Council of Nicaea was held in 325 AD in Nicaea, a city of the Eastern Roman Empire (today İznik, Turkey), convened by Emperor Constantine the Great to unify the Christian faith and put an end to doctrinal divisions threatening the unity of the empire

📹 romanorumimperatorum

“Holy Spirits”

The menu from Pope Leo XIV’s first dinner with the cardinals has surfaced

A Thread 🧵 on the excellent Italian wines chosen for the occasion 🥂 After the intense days of the conclave, on the evening of May 8th, a beautiful dinner was offered at Santa Marta to all the cardinals who had taken part in the election — a moment to celebrate the Habemus Papam and the beginning of the pontificate of Leo XIV ✨

Dear Americans 🇺🇸,

The Vatican is not a Democratic Republic

A Thread 🧵 meant to be ironic and light-hearted

Maybe with a hint of reflection too First of all, I speak as an Italian 🇮🇹

From the country that has given birth to about 220 of the 267 popes

“The Army of the Lions”

The thirteen Popes named Leo who preceded Robert Prevost as Leo XIV

A Thread 🧵 to understand the reason behind this name ✨ Leo I (Leo the Great) - 440–461

One of the greatest popes in history

Stopped Attila in 452, convincing him not to sack Rome

Strengthened papal authority, affirming the primacy of the bishop of Rome (Petrine Primacy)

Fought heresies and wrote the “Tome to Flavian”

The Vestments of the Pope

Between opulence, sacred meaning, arcane words and lost traditions ✨

A Thread 🧵 The Triregnum (Triple Tiara)

A crown of three tiers, symbolizing the Pope’s triple authority: spiritual, judicial, and temporal

“Conclave”

Locked inside the Sistine Chapel: the rules

A Thread 🧵 This May 7, 133 cardinal electors will be locked inside the Sistine Chapel to elect the next Pope

Their isolation begins with the thunder of closing doors — a symbolic, sacred ritual

The curious case of Pope Francis’s tombstone

Recognized to his surprise by its maker

Despite being commissioned anonymously in 2022

A Thread 🧵 What happened after Pope Francis’s death is now history

His tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore was unveiled the day before the funeral, and images of it were immediately shared around the world

In the silence of the corridors
Within the rooms where secrets dwell
Amid the whispers of cardinals
A name is beginning to emerge

His Beatitude and Eminence
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

Could he be the next Pope? ✝️

A Thread 🧵 Pierbattista Pizzaballa was born on April 21, 1965, near Bergamo, Italy

He was ordained a priest in 1990 and, later that year, moved to Jerusalem, where he enrolled at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum

In 1993, he earned a Licentiate in Theology

The truth about this viral photo of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni 🇮🇹

A Thread 🧵 In a world now dominated by artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and Photoshop, this photo could indeed spark a wide range of opinions, with people claiming it might be a generated image — possibly altered or digitally constructed from preexisting ones

🚨 Breaking news

The World’s Best Beaches 2025 has announced its winner 🏆

Cala Goloritzè, Sardinia, Italy 🇮🇹

Hurrah!

A Thread 🧵 A mystical amphitheater in Italy 🇮🇹

Cala Goloritzè

With its white pebbles and crystal-clear waters in Ogliastra, on Sardinia’s eastern coast, it has been named the world’s most beautiful beach

The first Conclave in the age of AI

From hilarious to solemn, the wildest videos going viral

A Thread 🧵

1. F1 🏎️ Conclave by Abs_idea 2. The Clubbing Conclave by Eman Rus

Between May 5th and 6th, the Conclave will convene 🗝️

The 135 Cardinal electors will gather in the Sistine Chapel to select the successor of Pope Francis

In the midst of the directive: “Everyone Out!”

A Thread 🧵 1. Here starts the full official list (1-135) in no particular order 🗝️

The first official images of Pope Francis’ tomb ✝️

Basilica of St. Mary Major, Rome

Simplicity is the new opulence

A Thread 🧵 Here are the first images of the tomb, white and made of simple marble, perfectly in line with Pope Francis’ devotion to St. Francis, the saint of simplicity

The crucifix reflects the one on his pectoral cross, which he carried throughout his papacy

“Bella Ciao”

The rebel song that went global from Italian 🇮🇹 rice fields to resistance

A Thread 🧵 on one of the world’s most enduring anthems of protest Bella Ciao began as a work song among mondine, women laborers in the rice fields of Northern Italy in the late 19th century

Their version lamented the grueling conditions, long hours, and exploitation they faced

🚨 Pope Francis’s tomb has been revealed

A Thread 🧵 to explore the incredible Basilica where he will be laid to rest

A place set to become a destination for both pilgrims and tourists The chosen location will be outside the Vatican:

Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) ✨

It’s one of the four major papal basilicas in Rome, a masterpiece of Christian art, architecture and history

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient and Modern World together

A Thread 🧵 of preserved marvels and lost splendors 💫 Let’s begin with the Seven Wonders of the Modern World 🌎

1. The Great Wall of China (China)

Massive and ancient, it stretches thousands of miles across mountains

One of the darkest hours in the Vatican’s history

The brief 33-day papacy of John Paul I

His sudden death in September 1978 remains shrouded in mystery, doubts, and speculation

A Thread 🧵 Albino Luciani, born in 1912 in Canale d’Agordo, Italy, became Pope John Paul I on August 26, 1978

His election was swift, concluded in a single day, with 101 out of 111 cardinals voting for him

He chose a double name to honor his predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI

The Throne of Saint Peter is empty

Between legend, myth, art, relics, and religion

A Thread 🧵 on the “Cathedra Petri”, the Chair of Saint Peter The Chair of St. Peter is a powerful symbol of papal authority, rooted in Christ’s words to Peter:
“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church…” (Mt 16:18-19)

It represents the unbroken line of succession from Peter to the 266 popes who have followed

Salvator Mundi “Savior of the World”

One of the most famous, controversial, and mysterious works of art in history, attributed to none other than Leonardo da Vinci

A Thread 🧵 on its endless enigma A painting of extraordinary power, holding within it a universe far greater than what first meets the eye 💫

It depicts Christ as the Savior

His right hand raised in blessing, His left holding a transparent orb — symbol of divine power and creation ✨