WASHINGTON (TNND) — Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass in the Sistine Chapel on Friday as history's first North American pontiff.

The Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was elected Thursday as the 267th pope just 24 hours after the conclave began voting to elect a successor to Pope Francis.

Dressed in white vestments, Leo delivered the opening prayers and hymns in Latin as women read the initial Scripture readings.

It was also the first time he made public remarks in English after he spoke in Italian and Spanish from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday.

“You have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission, and I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me as we continue as a church, as a community, as friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the good news to announce the Gospel," he told the cardinals in a closed service.

Speaking in near-perfect Italian, Leo lamented that the Christian faith in many parts of the world is “considered absurd,” mocked or opposed when there were temptations such as money, success and power. He complained that in many places Jesus is misunderstood, “reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman.”

"This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism,” he said. “Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”

On Sunday, he will deliver his first noon blessing from the loggia and attend an audience with the media on Monday in the Vatican auditorium.

He is expected to be a unifying figure for the Church after years of ideological divides between its progressive and conservative wings. Leo rarely took outspoken stances on some of the most controversial issues.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.