Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful around the world to be instruments of unity and communion during his inauguration as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday.

“Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world,” Pope Leo XIV said during his homily at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

“This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people,” he added.

The new pontiff lamented over the “discord” among the people observed in the current times.

“In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest,” he said.

The 69-year-old Augustinian pope reminded Catholics that love goes beyond differences.

“The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ,” the pope said.

“It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did, he added.

In a report by Reuters, Leo also said during his sermon—read in fluent Italian—that as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, he would continue Francis' legacy on social issues such as combating poverty and protecting the environment.

He vowed to face up to "the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world" and, in a nod to conservatives, he promised to preserve "the rich heritage of the Christian faith."

Crowds chanted "Viva il Papa" (Long Live the Pope) and "Papa Leone," his name in Italian, as he waved from the open-topped popemobile ahead of his inaugural Mass, which was attended by dozens of world leaders.

During the ceremony Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle also placed the Ring of the Fisherman on the Pope's finger, a symbol of Leo's being the successor to St. Peter, a fisherman and the first head of the Church.

Then-Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago was elected as the successor to the late Pope Francis on May 9 after a two-day Papal Conclave. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News