Lammy and Rayner to attend inauguration of Pope Leo XIV

The Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister will join the Duke of Edinburgh, who is representing the King, at the event on Sunday.

Pope Leo XIV appears on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican (Gregorio Borgia/AP) (AP)

David Lammy and Angela Rayner will travel to the Vatican for the inauguration of the new Pope this weekend.

The Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister will join the Duke of Edinburgh, who is representing the King, to attend Pope Leo XIV’s formal installation as Pope at a mass in St Peter’s Square on Sunday.

The new Pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, from Chicago, became the first North American head of the Catholic Church after he was elected during the secret conclave meeting of cardinals on Thursday May 8.

Leo was elected in a vote by 133 cardinals from 70 countries in just over 24 hours, giving the Church a pope less than three weeks after the death of his predecessor Francis.