Pope Leo XIV: The Right Leader for Our Global Church

Pope Leo XIV: The Right Leader for Our Global Church

Today, the College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to be the new Pope — he chose the name Pope Leo XIV.  Congratulations to our new Pope!

I hope you had (or will have on video) an opportunity to watch him come out on the balcony to address the thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his first papal address.  “Peace be with you,” were his opening words.  He spoke in Italian and Spanish, invoking Pope Francis as he extended a blessing to the large crowd and indicating that he would be continuing largely in the Francis mode.

Commentators are making much of the fact that Pope Leo is an American — we can celebrate this native of Chicago, but we also must understand that he is a truly international pastor, having spent most of his ministry in Peru and the global South. His broad international experience makes him a truly fitting leader for the Catholic Church in these challenging times.

For the last two years, he has also been Prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops, a position that evaluates candidates for elevation to the episcopate all over the world, and through that work he has much insight into what kinds of bishops work — or don’t work — for the diverse populations of Catholics around the globe.  Earlier, he also served for six years as the Prior General of his religious order, the Augustinians.

While noting his international experience, and commitment to his flock in Peru and throughout South America in particular, we can also note one distinctively American identity — he earned his undergraduate degree at Villanova University!  So we can speculate on whether March Madness will become a topic of interest at the Vatican…

One other note:  the name Pope Leo has special meaning for Trinity!!  The last Pope Leo — Leo XIII — drove the social justice revolution in the Catholic Church, particularly with his encyclical Rerum Novarum.  But also, because of his progressive vision in 1897, he approved the founding of Trinity after some conservatives tried to prevent the Sisters of Notre Dame from establishing the nation’s first Catholic college for women.  From the little bit I’ve learned about the 14th Pope Leo in the last hour, it seems he will continue the progressive momentum of the Church.

I’ll have more on Pope Leo XIV and this new moment for the Church in the days ahead.  I urge you to read about him and join me in extending Trinity’s congratulations.

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