Pope Leo XIV has called on the Catholic Church to urgently confront a growing “lack of faith” in his first Mass as pontiff, held on Friday—just a day after the previously little-known American cardinal was elected as the 267th leader of the 2,000-year-old institution.

Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost was chosen on Thursday following a secret conclave of cardinals in the Sistine Chapel. He succeeds Pope Francis of Argentina and now leads the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Delivering his inaugural homily from the altar of the Sistine Chapel, framed by Michelangelo’s iconic fresco The Last Judgment, the new pope lamented the challenges of evangelisation in a world where believers are “mocked, opposed, despised or, at best, tolerated and pitied”.

“Yet, precisely for this reason, these are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed,” said the 69-year-old former missionary.

He decried societies in which Christianity is dismissed as absurd or reserved for “the weak and unintelligent”, and echoed themes often voiced by his predecessor, warning of the rise of secular idols such as technology, money, success, power and pleasure.

“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,” Leo said, dressed in white papal robes trimmed with gold.

In a pointed remark seemingly directed at evangelical movements, he cautioned against portraying Jesus as merely “a kind of charismatic leader or superman”.

“This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptised Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism,” he said.

Departing from his prepared remarks, Pope Leo opened the homily in English, expressing hope for unity within the Church. “I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me,” he told the assembled white-robed cardinals.

The election of an American pope—informally dubbed the “Latin Yankee” for his long missionary service in Peru—continued to make headlines around the world. Corriere della Sera, one of Italy’s leading newspapers, remarked: “A pope from the United States is almost more surprising than an Argentine and Jesuit pope,” referencing the historic election of Pope Francis as the first pontiff from the Americas.