Category: Diocese of Scranton News

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV will officially inaugurate his papacy with Mass in St. Peter’s Square May 18.

Although he was pope from the moment he accepted his election May 8, the inauguration Mass – which replaced the papal coronation after the pontificate of St. Paul VI – formally marks the beginning of his ministry with his reception of the fisherman’s ring and his pallium, a wool band worn around his shoulders.

The Vatican announced the date for the Mass May 9 along with events on his schedule for the rest of the month.

In a separate statement, the Vatican said the new pope has asked the heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia and the offices of Vatican City State to continue in their posts “on a provisional basis.”

When Pope Francis died April 21, and when any pope dies, most of the top Vatican officials lose their positions, giving the new pope a chance to appoint his team. Those reappointed included two women who were the first appointed to their posts and who succeeded cardinals: Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Raffaella Petrini, who is president of the office governing Vatican City State; and Consolata Missionary Sister Simona Brambilla, prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

In reappointing the officials temporarily, the Vatican said, “the Holy Father wishes to set aside some time for reflection, prayer and dialogue before any final appointment or confirmation is made.”

Here is Pope Leo XIV’s schedule for the month of May released by the Vatican May 9:

— May 10. Meeting with cardinals.

— May 11. Recitation of the “Regina Coeli” prayer at noon from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

— May 12. Meeting with members of the media covering the conclave and his election.

— May 16: Meeting with diplomats accredited to the Holy See.

— May 18: Mass for the solemn inauguration of the pontificate at 10 a.m. Rome time (4 a.m. EDT) in St. Peter’s Square.

— May 20: Formal possession of the Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

— May 21: Pope Leo’s first weekly general audience.

— May 24: Meeting with members of the Roman Curia and employees of Vatican City State,

— May 25: Recitation of the “Regina Coeli” prayer in St. Peter’s Square. Formal possession of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, followed by formal possession of Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major.

ROME (OSV News) – He enjoys gelato after lunch, plays tennis weekly in the gardens of the Augustinian Curia in Rome and roots passionately for the Chicago White Sox.

But now, the man once known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost — a quiet, thoughtful Augustinian with decades of missionary experience in Peru — is Pope Leo XIV, the 266th successor of St. Peter.

For his brothers in the Augustinian order, his election has been met with a mixture of “joyful disbelief” and deep spiritual affirmation.

“I kept saying, ‘This is incredible,’ but I was also filled with joy,” said Father Joseph Farrell, the American prior general of the Order of St. Augustine. “As soon as I heard Roberto Francesco, I thought, it has to be Prevost. There were tears of joy — I was in the square when it happened.”

Father Farrell describes Pope Leo XIV as a man who leads by example, someone who “would never ask anyone to do anything he wouldn’t do himself.” His leadership, he said, is grounded not in ambition or politics, but in lived humility and fulfillment of the wide range of tasks a missionary might have — from teaching theology in Trujillo, Peru, or changing a flat tire.

“He’s someone who walks with people, who brings them along on the journey,” Father Farrell said. “That’s what mission is. Pope Francis said the church doesn’t just have a mission – it is a mission. I think Leo will continue that.”

The new pope has not yet personally reached out to Father Farrell, something Pope Francis had done on the day of his election when he called the superior general of his own religious order, the Jesuits. But he did send a telling one-word text after the election. “I asked him, ‘Cubs or White Sox?'” Father Farrell shared with a smile. “He just replied: Socks!”

That playful spirit – balanced by a calm, steady presence – is central to how Augustinians see Leo XIV’s upcoming papacy.

“My expectation is that he will be a little bit more reserved (than Pope Francis),” said Father Farrell. “Pope Leo XIV is a man who listens before he speaks, who listens before he acts. He needs that. He will react; he is a man who is very secure in himself, but he always listens first.”

One of the things few may know about the new pope is his commitment to exercise as part of his spiritual balance. “He played tennis here weekly. He realizes just how important staying in good physical shape is. He certainly plays tennis for the joy of the game, to keep up with the game, but also for stress relief!”

Asked if he pictures the newly elected pope continuing with his weekly tennis appointment, the priest said that he’s not sure but wouldn’t rule it out even if there is no tennis court in the Vatican.

While St. John Paul II was known as an athlete pope, the building of a tennis court would have to be the new pope’s task as the Polish one was rather famous for mountain hiking, skiing and swimming.

From Seville, Spain, another Augustinian voice echoed the same blend of affection and admiration. Father Eduardo Martín Clemens, diocesan director of the Pontifical Mission Societies and former missionary in Peru, lived and worked alongside then-Father Prevost in Trujillo.

As a priest, the pope joined the Augustinian mission in Trujillo in 1988 as director of the joint formation project for Augustinian candidates from the vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos and Apurímac. He stayed there until 1998.

“I’m convinced the new pope is a gift to the whole church,” said Father Clemens. “The Holy Spirit has been very generous.”

Father Clemens remembers a man who embodied both “the pragmatism of a North American and the open heart of Latin America.” He says then-Father Prevost never treated mission as a task but as a calling so deeply personal that “it was hard to distinguish if he was, in fact, a foreign missionary or Peruvian.”

He recalls weekends spent traveling together to remote corners of the country: “He’d always stop where the suffering was greatest. Whether to hear confessions or simply be present, was close to those in need.”

For Father Clemens, Pope Leo XIV’s spirituality is deeply rooted in the Augustinian tradition, but never at the expense of openness. “He embraced the new without breaking with tradition,” he said. “He was never a man of consensus in the political sense – but a man of communion. He built bridges.”

As a seminary formator and later bishop, the man who is now pope was known for his deep theological knowledge, even of canon law, which he applied “in a pastoral way, never making others feel trapped by rules, but liberated by truth,” said Father Clemens.

In his first public words as pope, Leo XIV quoted St. Augustine: “For you I am a bishop, with you, I am a Christian.” That, Father Clemens says, is exactly who he’s always been.

“In him, apostolic succession takes on flesh,” he said. “He is the man the church needs today – to build bridges and embrace everyone with his heart.”

(OSV News) – The following are key dates in the life and ministry of Pope Leo XIV, elected May 8, 2025, as the 266th successor to St. Peter.

— 1955: Born Sept. 14 in the Chicago area.

— 1977: Graduated from Villanova University near Philadelphia and entered the novitiate for the Order of St. Augustine in St. Louis.

— 1978: Professed first vows as a member of the Order of St. Augustine.

— 1981: Professed solemn vows as a member of the Order of St. Augustine.

— 1982: Ordained a priest of the Order of St. Augustine.

— 1984: Earned a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.

— 1985: Sent to work in the mission of Chulucanas, in Piura, Peru, until 1986.

— 1987: Elected the vocations director and missions director for his order’s Midwest province, Our Mother of Good Counsel.

— 1988: Moved to Trujillo, Peru, to direct a joint formation project for the region’s Augustinian aspirants. Over the course of a decade in Trujillo, he served as the community’s prior (1988-1992), formation director (1988-1998) and as an instructor (1992-1998).

— 1989: Began serving the Archdiocese of Trujillo for nine years as its judicial vicar; was also a professor of canon, patristic and moral law in the San Carlos e San Marcelo Major Seminary.

— 1999: Elected prior provincial for the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Chicago.

— 2001: Promoted to his order’s prior general, considered its supreme authority that oversees its administration and governance. He was reelected to that role in 2007, holding it for a total of 12 years until 2013.

— 2013: Served for a year as a “teacher of the professed” and provincial vicar.

— 2014: Appointed by Pope Francis to be apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru. He was simultaneously named a bishop, but of the titular diocese Sufar, under which title he was ordained a month later on Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

— 2015: Appointed bishop of Chiclayo on Sept. 26.

— 2018: Served as second vice president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference until 2023.

— 2019: Appointed a member of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy.

— 2020: While still bishop of Chiclayo, appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao, Peru, a role he held until May 2021. He was also appointed to the Congregation for Bishops.

— 2023: Appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, named president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and granted the title archbishop Jan. 30; installed in those roles April 12. On Sept. 30, elevated to the College of Cardinals.

— 2025: Elected pope May 8, taking the name Leo XIV.

(OSV News) – The following are key dates in the life and ministry of Pope Leo XIV, elected May 8, 2025, as the 266th successor to St. Peter.

— 1955: Born Sept. 14 in the Chicago area.

— 1977: Graduated from Villanova University near Philadelphia and entered the novitiate for the Order of St. Augustine in St. Louis.

— 1978: Professed first vows as a member of the Order of St. Augustine.

— 1981: Professed solemn vows as a member of the Order of St. Augustine.

— 1982: Ordained a priest of the Order of St. Augustine.

— 1984: Earned a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.

— 1985: Sent to work in the mission of Chulucanas, in Piura, Peru, until 1986.

— 1987: Elected the vocations director and missions director for his order’s Midwest province, Our Mother of Good Counsel.

— 1988: Moved to Trujillo, Peru, to direct a joint formation project for the region’s Augustinian aspirants. Over the course of a decade in Trujillo, he served as the community’s prior (1988-1992), formation director (1988-1998) and as an instructor (1992-1998).

— 1989: Began serving the Archdiocese of Trujillo for nine years as its judicial vicar; was also a professor of canon, patristic and moral law in the San Carlos e San Marcelo Major Seminary.

— 1999: Elected prior provincial for the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Chicago.

— 2001: Promoted to his order’s prior general, considered its supreme authority that oversees its administration and governance. He was reelected to that role in 2007, holding it for a total of 12 years until 2013.

— 2013: Served for a year as a “teacher of the professed” and provincial vicar.

— 2014: Appointed by Pope Francis to be apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru. He was simultaneously named a bishop, but of the titular diocese Sufar, under which title he was ordained a month later on Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

— 2015: Appointed bishop of Chiclayo on Sept. 26.

— 2018: Served as second vice president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference until 2023.

— 2019: Appointed a member of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy.

— 2020: While still bishop of Chiclayo, appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao, Peru, a role he held until May 2021. He was also appointed to the Congregation for Bishops.

— 2023: Appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, named president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and granted the title archbishop Jan. 30; installed in those roles April 12. On Sept. 30, elevated to the College of Cardinals.

— 2025: Elected pope May 8, taking the name Leo XIV.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Where Christians are “mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied” is where the Catholic Church’s “missionary outreach is most desperately needed,” Pope Leo XIV said in his first homily as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Today, “there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent, settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power or pleasure,” the new pope told cardinals May 9 during Mass in the Sistine Chapel. 

“This is the world that has been entrusted to us, a world in which, as Pope Francis taught us so many times, we are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the savior,” he said.

The day after his election, the new pope returned to the chapel where his fellow 132 cardinals elected him pope — the first U.S. citizen, first Peruvian citizen, first Augustinian friar and likely the first Chicago White Sox fan to become pope — to celebrate his first Mass with the College of Cardinals.

Wearing black shoes instead of the traditional red associated with the papacy and walking into the Sistine Chapel carrying Pope Benedict XIV’s papal ferula, or staff, the pope processed into the chapel.

After two women read the Mass readings in English and Spanish – a possible nod to the new pope’s U.S. and Peruvian background – he greeted the cardinals in English, marking his first public use of the language.

“Through the ministry of Peter, you have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission,” he said, “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 of friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the good news, to announce the Gospel.”

The Mass, largely in Latin, was celebrated at a portable altar brought into the Sistine Chapel, as opposed to the fixed altar which requires the celebrant to face East, away from the congregation.

In his homily, spoken in Italian, Pope Leo said God had called him to be a “faithful administrator” of the church so that she may be “a beacon that illumines the dark nights of this world.”

“And this, not so much through the magnificence of her structures or the grandeur of her buildings, like the monuments among which we find ourselves, but rather through the holiness of her members,” he said, standing before Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel.

Reflecting on Jesus’ question to the apostle Peter in St. Matthew’s Gospel — “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” — Pope Leo said one might find two possible responses: the world’s, which considers Jesus “a completely insignificant person” who becomes “irksome because of his demands for honesty and his stern moral requirements,” and that of ordinary people, who see him as an “upright man, one who has courage, who speaks well and says the right things.”

“Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent,” he said. In these settings, “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,” the pope said.

And in many settings in which Jesus is appreciated, the pope said, he can be “reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman.”

“This is true not only among nonbelievers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism,” he said. “Therefore, it is essential that we too repeat, with Peter: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'”

“I say this first of all to myself, as the successor of Peter, as I begin my mission as bishop of Rome,” he said. Referencing St. Ignatius of Antioch, he said the commitment for all who exercise authority in the church is “to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified, to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.”

Before the Mass, video footage of the pope’s first hours in office circulated online. A video released by the Vatican showed him greeting the cardinals who elected him, praying alone in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace and wearing black, not red, shoes.

After his election and presentation to the faithful May 8, a video posted online showed Pope Leo returning to the Vatican residence where he had briefly lived as a cardinal before entering the conclave that elected him pope.

Greeting people who lived in the building, he posed for selfies and gave his blessing.

A girl asked the new pope to bless and sign a book; with a smile he replied: “I need to practice the signature! That old one is no good anymore.” And while signing, he asked, “Today is?” to a roar of laughs to those around him.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – President Donald Trump on May 8 congratulated Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, who was elected the 267th pope the same day, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.

In a post on his social media website Truth Social, Trump noted Pope Leo will be the first American pontiff in the church’s history.

“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope,” Trump wrote. “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country.”

Trump added, “I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

Trump, who attended the funeral Mass for the late Pope Francis on April 26, had also stirred some controversy during the official days of mourning for the late pontiff by posting an image depicting himself as pope. The image, apparently generated by artificial intelligence, was also posted to the White House’s social media account.

In comments to reporters at the White House, Trump said, “It’s such a great honor for our country, an American pope, and what greater honor can there be.”

Trump called himself “a little bit surprised” at Pope Leo’s election, but repeated it was an “absolutely great honor.”

Former President Joe Biden, the second Catholic to hold that office, wrote on X, “Habemus papam – May God bless Pope Leo XIV of Illinois.”

“Jill and I congratulate him and wish him success,” Biden said.

Former President Barack Obama said on X that he and former first lady Michelle Obama “send our congratulations to a fellow Chicagoan, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.”

“This is a historic day for the United States, and we will pray for him as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic Church and setting an example for so many, regardless of faith,” Obama said.

Former President George W. Bush said in a statement that he and former first lady Laura Bush “are delighted to congratulate former Cardinal Robert Prevost on his election to the papacy.”

“This an historic and hopeful moment for Catholics in America and for the faithful around the world,” Bush said. “We join those praying for the success of Pope Leo XIV as he prepares to lead the Catholic church, serve the neediest, and share God’s love.”

Vice President JD Vance, the second Catholic to hold that office, wrote on X, “Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election!”

“I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!” said Vance, who met with Pope Francis on Easter, the day before the late pontiff’s death April 21.

The U.S.-born Pope Leo comes into the papacy at a time when the U.S. church has faced significant challenges with respect to the Trump administration’s policies on migration and refugees. However, Catholic Relief Services’ president and CEO Sean Callahan described Pope Leo as a leader who is “voice for the voiceless and a fierce supporter of human dignity for all people.”

In social media posts prior to becoming pontiff, then-Cardinal Prevost shared posts on X critical of the Trump administration’s immigration policy. In February, he shared an opinion piece from the National Catholic Reporter titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others,” a reference to the vice president’s comments about the Catholic theological concept of the “ordo amoris” (the order of love or charity) — a subject that Pope Francis decided to address directly, without naming Vance, in a public address to the U.S. bishops.

Catholic lawmakers from both parties also congratulated the new Pope Leo.

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wrote on X, “Joyfully, people around the world have learned of a new Pope elected by one of the largest and most diverse conclaves ever – and the first American pope in history.”

“For many of us, the name Leo XIV happily brings to mind Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum which was a blessing for working people,” Pelosi added. “And it is heartening that His Holiness continued the blessing that Pope Francis gave on Easter Sunday: “God loves everyone. Evil will not prevail.”

“Rerum Novarum” (on capital and labor) is an 1891 encyclical by Pope Leo XIII. It is considered the starting point of modern social teaching by the popes.

Pelosi also quoted previous comments from the new pope: “We can be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges, that is always open to receive everyone.”

“Let us thank God for His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and for this vision of unity,” she said. “All of us hope and pray for the success of His Holiness and his vision for the Church.”

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, wrote on X, “Blessings to Pope Leo XIV, our first American Pope, on his selection to serve as the Bishop of Rome.”

“May he receive guidance from Jesus Christ our Lord and inspire the global community of Catholics and all people by sharing the message of God’s unconditional love,” she said.

Lawmakers of other faith traditions also congratulated the new pope.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote on X, “May God bless the first American papacy in these historic days.”

Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., wrote on X that Pope Leo grew up in Dolton, Illinois, within the district she represents.

“I wish Pope Leo XIV wisdom and integrity as he leads the Church toward greater inclusion, stronger faith, and love for all,” she wrote.

Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., also noted Pope Leo’s ties to the Prairie State in a post on X.

“A historic moment as we witness the first American leading the Catholic Church,” he wrote. “Hailing from Chicago, Pope Leo XIV ushers in a new chapter that I join those in our state welcoming in at a time when we need compassion, unity, and peace.”

Former House Speaker John Boehner, a Catholic Republican who was in office when the late Pope Francis delivered his historic 2015 address to a joint session of Congress, wrote on X that while that moment “was a big deal,” he said, “This is seismic.”

“May God Bless Pope Leo XIV, and through him, bring His light to the world,” Boehner said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Even before he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and spoke May 8, Pope Leo XIV’s choice of a name was a powerful statement.

Following Pope Francis, who chose a completely new name in church history, Pope Leo opted for a name steeped in tradition that also conveys an openness to engaging with the modern world.

The pope’s choice of name is a “direct recall of the social doctrine of the church and of the pope that initiated the modern social doctrine of the church,” Matteo Bruni, director Vatican press office told reporters after the election of the new pope.

Pope Leo XIII, who was pope from 1878-1903, is known for publishing the encyclical “Rerum Novarum” on worker’s rights – considered the foundational document for the church’s social teaching. The document emphasized the dignity of workers and condemned the dangers of unchecked capitalism and socialism.

The name Leo is a “direct” reference to “men and women and their work, also in the time of artificial intelligence,” Bruni said.

Pope Leo XIII also opened the Vatican secret archives to scholars, founded the Vatican observatory to demonstrate the church’s openness to science and was the first pope to be filmed on a motion picture camera.

Tied to the new pope’s first words to the faithful: “May peace be with you all,” his namesake Pope Leo XIII was also a peacemaker who reconciled the church with the governments of France, Russia, Germany and Great Britain during his pontificate.

Pope Leo’s name also has a Marian significance, since Pope Leo XIII wrote 11 encyclicals on the rosary and was also the first pope to embrace the concept of Mary as mediatrix, which holds that Mary helps distribute Christ’s grace through her intercession.

The first pope who took the name Leo became pope in 440. Known as “Leo the Great,” he promoted the doctrine of papal primacy based on succession from St. Peter and was a peacemaker who convinced Atilla the Hun to turn back from invading Italy in 452.

Pope Leo X, pope from 1513-1521, was the last pope to not have been a priest at the time of his election to the papacy.

The new pope’s predecessor, Pope Francis, was the first pontiff since Pope Lando in 913 to choose an entirely new papal name. Before him, Pope John Paul I, elected in 1978, also broke with tradition by forgoing a numeral, though his name was a blend of his two immediate predecessors’ names.

By contrast, Leo is among the most frequently taken names by a pope, with only Benedict, Gregory and John having been chosen more often. Of the 13 previous popes named Leo, five are canonized as saints.

(OSV News) – The following is the full text of the “urbi et orbi” blessing given by Pope Leo XIV after his election May 8, 2025. 

“Peace be with you all!”

Beloved brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who has given his life for the flock of God. I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, reach your families, to all people, wherever they may be, to all peoples, to all the earth.

“Peace be with you!”

This is the peace of the Risen Christ, a disarmed peace and a disarming peace, humble and persevering. It comes from God, God who loves us all unconditionally. We still retain in our ears that weak but always courageous voice of Pope Francis blessing Rome!

The pope blessing Rome gave his blessing to the world, to the whole world, that morning of Easter Day. Let me follow up on that same blessing: God loves us, God loves you all, and evil will not prevail! We are all in God’s hands. Therefore, without fear, united hand in hand with God and each other — let us go forward. We are disciples of Christ. Christ goes before us.

The world needs His light. Humanity needs Him as the bridge to be reached by God and his love. Help us also, and then help each other to build bridges, with dialogue, with encounter, uniting us all to be one people always at peace. Thank you Pope Francis!

I also want to thank all my brother cardinals who have chosen me to be Successor of Peter and walk together with you, as a united Church always seeking peace, justice, always seeking to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear, to proclaim the Gospel, to be missionaries.

I am a son of St. Augustine, an Augustinian, who said, “For you I am a bishop, with you, I am a Christian.” In this sense we can all walk together toward that homeland that God has prepared.

To the Church of Rome, a special greeting! We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges, dialogue, always open to receive, like this square, with open arms. Everyone, everyone who needs our charity, our presence, dialogue and love.

[In Spanish] And if you allow me a word, a greeting to everyone and especially to my dear Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith and has given so much, so much to continue to be a faithful Church of Jesus Christ.

To all of you, brothers and sisters from Rome, from Italy, from all over the world, we want to be a synodal Church, a church that walks, a church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close especially to those who suffer.

Today is the day of Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii. Our Mother Mary always wants to walk with us, be close, help us with her intercession and love.

So I would like to pray together with you. Let us pray together for this new mission, for the whole church, for peace in the world, and let us ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace.

Ave Maria…

(OSV News) – Catholic groups are welcoming Pope Leo XIV — the second pope from the Americas, and the first U.S.-born pontiff — who was elected May 8, the second day of the papal conclave.

Catholic Relief Services, the official humanitarian agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S., released a statement moments after Pope Leo had delivered his “Urbi et Orbi” blessing.

CRS president and CEO Sean Callahan said the agency was “overjoyed by the election of Pope Leo XIV and look forward to his leadership and guidance.”

Callahan called the election of the first U.S.-born pope “a momentous occasion for American Catholics,” adding that “as the humanitarian organization for the U.S. Church, CRS is proud to mark his historic election.”

The former Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, a Chicago native, most recently served as the prefect for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops. Prior to that appointment, he was the Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, having lived there for more than two decades.

Callahan said that “global experience will surely have an impact on his papacy.”

“He has seen, firsthand, the struggles that our sisters and brothers around the world are experiencing,” Callahan said. “We are confident that he will be a voice for the voiceless and a fierce supporter of human dignity for all people.”

Callahan added that the new pope’s election “comes at a critical time for the global Church, as communities around the world navigate challenges such as increasing hunger, environmental degradation and migration crisis.”

“As an organization committed to upholding dignity for every person, CRS stands ready to support the new Holy Father and continue working in communion with the global Church to build a more just, compassionate world,” said Callahan.

In a May 8 statement, Msgr. Roger J. Landry, National Director of The Pontifical Mission Societies USA, said Pope Leo had “a missionary at heart,” and was one who “served for many years as a priest and bishop bringing Christ and his Gospel to the people in rural Peru.”

The societies, which operate at the service of the pope, consist of four mission societies designated as pontifical by Pope Pius XI in 1922, and serve 1,124 missionary dioceses and territories worldwide.

“We commit ourselves to praying for him (Pope Leo) and his intentions as he continues the work of Peter as a fisher of men throughout the globe,” said Msgr. Landry.

Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, said in a May 8 statement the agency “gives thanks to God and the prompting of the Holy Spirit as we rejoice” over Pope Leo’s election.

An agency of the Holy See and headquartered in New York, CNEWA was founded to work for, through and with the Eastern churches, connecting people of good will in building the church, affirming human dignity, alleviating poverty, advancing dialogue and inspiring hope.

“We assure him (Pope Leo) of our prayers and our loyalty as we strive, following his words, to dedicate our mission in promoting the peace of the Risen Christ,” Msgr. Vaccari said.

Curtis Martin, founder of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, also known as FOCUS missionaries, said in a statement that Pope Leo’s election serves as “a powerful reminder that the Church is alive.”

“The world’s attention during the conclave and the growing number of conversions today are clear signs of a renewed hunger for truth and meaning,” Martin said.

He added, “May we be inspired with fresh zeal to live as missionary disciples and bring the hope of the Gospel to a world longing for light.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, was elected the 267th pope May 8 and took the name Pope Leo XIV.

He is the first North American to be elected pope and, before the conclave, was the U.S. cardinal most mentioned as a potential successor of St. Peter.

The white smoke poured from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel at 6:07 p.m. Rome time and a few minutes later the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica began to ring.

About 20 minutes later the Vatican police band and two dozen members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard marched into St. Peter’s Square. They soon were joined by the marching band of the Italian Carabinieri, a branch of military police, and by units of the other branches of the Italian military.

As soon as news began to spread, people from all over Rome ran to join the tens of thousands who were already in the square for the smoke watch. Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri was among them.

French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, protodeacon of the College of Cardinals, appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at 7:12 p.m. He told the crowd: “I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope (‘Habemus papam’),” saying the cardinal’s name in Latin and announcing the name by which he will be called.

Twenty minutes later, the new Pope Leo came out onto the balcony, smiling and waving to the crowd wearing the white papal cassock, a red mozzetta or cape and a red stole to give his first public blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world).

The crowd shouted repeatedly, “Viva il papa” or “Long live the pope” as Pope Leo’s eyes appeared to tear up.

“Peace be with you,” were Pope Leo’s first words to the crowd.

“My dear brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for God’s flock,” he said, praying that Christ’s peace would enter people’s hearts, their families and “the whole earth.”

The peace of the risen Lord, he said, is “a peace that is unarmed and disarming.”

Signaling strong continuity with the papacy of Pope Francis, Pope Leo told the crowd that God “loves all of us unconditionally” and that the church must be open to everyone.

“We are all in God’s hands,” he said, so “without fear, united, hand in hand with God and with each other, let us go forward.”

He thanked the cardinals who elected him, apparently on the fourth ballot of the conclave, “to be the successor of Peter and to walk with you as a united church always seeking peace, justice” and together being missionary disciples of Christ.

Telling the crowd that he was an Augustinian, he quoted St. Augustine, who said, “With you I am a Christian and for you a bishop.”

“Together we must try to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges and always dialogues, that is always open to receiving everyone like this square with its arms open to everyone, everyone in need,” he said.

The new bishop of Rome told the people of his diocese and of the whole Catholic Church, “We want to be a synodal church, a church that journeys, a church that seeks peace always, that always seeks charity, that wants to be close to people, especially those who are suffering.”

After asking the crowd to recite the Hail Mary with him, Pope Leo gave his first solemn blessing.

Cardinals over the age of 80, who were not eligible to enter the conclave, joined the crowd in the square. Among them were Cardinals Seán P. O’Malley, the retired archbishop of Boston; Donald W. Wuerl, the retired archbishop of Washington; and Marc Ouellet, retired prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

A longtime missionary in Peru, the 69-year-old pope holds both U.S. and Peruvian citizenship.

La Repubblica, the major Italian daily, described him April 25 as “cosmopolitan and shy,” but also said he was “appreciated by conservatives and progressives. He has global visibility in a conclave in which few (cardinals) know each other.”

That visibility comes from the fact that as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops for the past two years, he was instrumental in helping Pope Francis choose bishops for many Latin-rite dioceses, he met hundreds of bishops during their “ad limina” visits to Rome and was called to assist the world’s Latin-rite bishops “in all matters concerning the correct and fruitful exercise of the pastoral office entrusted to them.”

The new pope was serving as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, when Pope Francis called him to the Vatican in January 2023.

During a talk at St. Jude Parish in Chicago in August, the then-cardinal said Pope Francis nominated him “specifically because he did not want someone from the Roman Curia to take on this role. He wanted a missionary; he wanted someone from outside; he wanted someone who would come in with a different perspective.”

In a March 2024 interview with Catholic News Service, he said Pope Francis’ decision in 2022 to name three women as full members of the dicastery, giving them input on the selection of bishops “contributes significantly to the process of discernment in looking for who we hope are the best candidates to serve the church in episcopal ministry.”

To deter attitudes of clericalism among bishops, he said, “it’s important to find men who are truly interested in serving, in preaching the Gospel, not just with eloquent words, but rather with the example and witness they give.”

In fact, the cardinal said, Pope Francis’ “most effective and important” bulwark against clericalism was his being “a pastor who preaches by gesture.”

In an interview in 2023 with Vatican News, then-Cardinal Prevost spoke about the essential leadership quality of a bishop.

“Pope Francis has spoken of four types of closeness: closeness to God, to brother bishops, to priests and to all God’s people,” he said. “One must not give in to the temptation to live isolated, separated in a palace, satisfied with a certain social level or a certain level within the church.”

“And we must not hide behind an idea of authority that no longer makes sense today,” he said. “The authority we have is to serve, to accompany priests, to be pastors and teachers.”

As prefect of the dicastery then-Cardinal Prevost also served as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, where nearly 40% of the world’s Catholics reside.

A Chicago native, he also served as prior general of the Augustinians and spent more than two decades serving in Peru, first as an Augustinian missionary and later as bishop of Chiclayo.

Soon after coming to Rome to head the dicastery, he told Vatican News that bishops have a special mission of promoting the unity of the church.

“The lack of unity is a wound that the church suffers, a very painful one,” he said in May 2023. “Divisions and polemics in the church do not help anything. We bishops especially must accelerate this movement toward unity, toward communion in the church.”

In September, a television program in Peru reported on the allegations of three women who said that then-Bishop Prevost failed to act against a priest who sexually abused them as minors. The diocese strongly denied the accusation, pointing out that he personally met with the victims in April 2022, removed the priest from his parish, suspended him from ministry and conducted a local investigation that was then forwarded to the Vatican. The Vatican said there was insufficient evidence to proceed, as did the local prosecutor’s office.

Pope Leo was born Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Augustinian-run Villanova University in Pennsylvania and joined the order in 1977, making his solemn vows in 1981. He holds a degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

He joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and largely worked in the country until 1999 when he was elected head of the Augustinians’ Chicago-based province. From 2001 to 2013, he served as prior general of the worldwide order. In 2014, Pope Francis named him bishop of Chiclayo, in northern Peru, and the pope asked him also to be apostolic administrator of Callao, Peru, from April 2020 to May 2021.

The new pope speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and can read Latin and German.

 

SCRANTON – On May 8, 2025, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, released the following statement on the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, as the new Pope, who has chosen the papal name Leo XIV:

“Today is a day of great joy and thanksgiving in the life of the Church as we welcome a new Successor to the See of Saint Peter. I invite all the faithful of the Diocese of Scranton to join me in fervently praying for our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, who has been chosen today by the College of Cardinals as the 267^th Pope.

“While the election of Pope Leo XIV is historic as the first North American to be elected Pope, his vast missionary experience of walking among the poor and serving those on the margins with humility, will serve him well as he echoes Christ’s call of going forth and making disciples of all nations to all people.

“With this selection, I believe the Cardinals have recognized the vibrancy, faithfulness, and strength of the Church in the United States. For generations, American Catholics have sought to embrace the Gospel with compassion – and having a shepherd chosen from among us is both humbling and affirming. It also speaks to the goodness that has grown in the church of North America – a goodness bearing fruit in service and evangelization.

“We entrust Pope Leo XIV to the care of the Holy Spirit. May his heart be open to divine guidance, and may he be filled with strength, wisdom, courage, insight, and compassion for the great responsibility that lies before him.

“This is a beautiful moment for our Church to show its unity. Let us remain united in prayer – and especially hope – in the weeks and months ahead as the 2025 Jubilee Year continues.”