Pope Leo XIV, a missionary bishop from Chicago with deep Peruvian roots, celebrated his first Mass Friday as the primary North American pontiff in Catholic historical past – a second that merged centuries-old custom with the spirit of a globalized church in flux.
Emerging Thursday night onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica within the glow of white smoke and ringing bells, the 69-year-old Robert Prevost – now Leo XIV – was launched because the 267th pope, breaking a long-held taboo in opposition to an American main the Vatican.
Wearing the standard crimson mozzetta that Pope Francis had put aside in 2013, Leo signaled a nod to formal customs. Yet by selecting the title “Leo” – invoking the Thirteenth-century friar who was a companion of St. Francis of Assisi – and citing themes near Francis’ coronary heart, the brand new pope rapidly framed his mission as one in all continuity and compassion.
“Together, we must find how to be a missionary church – a church that builds bridges, embraces dialogue, and opens its arms like this piazza, to receive all who seek charity, presence, and love,” Leo mentioned in easy, near-perfect Italian, including transient remarks in Spanish – however notably, not in English.
Bridge between continents
Leo’s elevation got here as a shock. His American citizenship as soon as posed a diplomatic hurdle, given the U.S.’s international dominance. But Prevost additionally holds Peruvian citizenship and spent 20 years in Peru – first as a humble missionary, later as bishop, and finally because the Vatican’s head of the Dicastery for Bishops.
It was Francis who positioned him for succession.
In 2023, Prevost was appointed to one of many Vatican’s strongest roles, overseeing bishop appointments worldwide.
Months later, he was made cardinal, and by the point of the conclave, he was seen by many insiders because the clear front-runner.
Quiet reformer, international pastor
Those who labored with Prevost recall a person of conviction, humility, and motion. In Peru, he was recognized for wading via mud after floods and securing oxygen vegetation throughout the pandemic. “He has no problem fixing a broken-down truck until it runs,” mentioned Janinna Sesa, who labored with him via Caritas.
Nicknamed “The Saint of the North” by Peruvians, Leo’s path to Rome was paved via service, not ambition. As prior common of the Augustinian Order, he led a neighborhood outlined by poverty and outreach – the very qualities that formed his papacy’s early message.
His Vatican resume additionally features a landmark transfer beneath Francis: including girls to the bishop choice committee. He later referred to as their inclusion important, saying that they had “enriched the discernment” and helped floor church governance in lived realities.
Political tightrope
Back in Washington, Leo’s election caught even U.S. officers off guard. President Donald Trump praised the second as a nationwide honor, saying, “What greater honor can there be?” But it could not all be easy crusing – Leo has beforehand criticized Trump-era immigration insurance policies, together with mass deportation plans.
Still, Leo is called a centrist, not doctrinaire, not divisive. “He’s not going to be real far left or real far right,” mentioned his brother John Prevost. “Kind of right down the middle.” The pope’s household was so surprised by his election that John missed a number of of Leo’s cellphone calls throughout a stay interview.
Legacy in a reputation
The final pontiff to bear the title Leo was Leo XIII, who led the church from 1878 to 1903 and have become a champion of employees’ rights throughout the industrial age.
His famed encyclical Rerum Novarum laid the groundwork for contemporary Catholic social thought.
Leo XIII additionally had shut ties to the Augustinians – restoring an historic convent exterior Rome nonetheless utilized by the order at present. That symbolic echo is just not misplaced on Vatican watchers, who say Leo XIV’s selection of title indicators a mix of reform and rootedness.
“He is continuing a lot of Francis’ ministry,” mentioned Natalia Imperatori-Lee, a faith scholar at Manhattan College. But she additionally famous that an American pope would possibly pressure the U.S. Church – typically at odds with Francis – to reckon with itself.
Leo himself has acknowledged the deep divides plaguing international Catholicism. “Polarization is a wound,” he mentioned final 12 months. “We bishops must accelerate the movement toward unity.”
Next steps
Pope Leo will give his first public blessing on Sunday, meet the press Monday, and is predicted to journey to Türkiye in late May – a visit initially deliberate by Francis to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
For now, Leo’s ascension has given the Catholic Church a second to breathe, to mirror – and maybe, to hope.
Source: www.dailysabah.com