Dear friends, together with the Universal Church, we give thanks for a new Successor of Peter. Like many, I did not think I would witness a son of the United States being chosen as pope. This marks only the second pope from the Western Hemisphere, Pope Francis being the first.
With the election of our new Holy Father, there comes a renewed energy and fresh opening for new opportunities for the Church to fulfill its ancient mission: to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus and to strive to meet his mandate to make disciples of all nations.
Pope Leo XIV comes with a rich spiritual background as a member and the former General Superior of the Augustinian Order. He spent much of his priesthood in Peru and was well-acquainted with the gifts of the Latin American Catholic Community. Our new pope is a canon lawyer by training, which gives him a deep understanding of the law and traditions of the Church.
His choice of the name “Leo” also signals his passion for the social Gospel of the Church, which the previous Pope Leo XIII pioneered. Pope Leo XIII was also known for his devotion to the Holy Spirit, and I believe Pope Leo XIV will likewise show an apostolic zeal to proclaim the Gospel— a mission that began on Pentecost and is empowered by the Holy Spirit.
I urge all members of the archdiocese to pray for Pope Leo XIV as he begins his ministry as the Successor of Peter, and as such, carries a heavy responsibility for the leadership of the Church. More than one billion Catholics will look toward him as the Spiritual Father— he will become a living symbol of our unity.