by Evelyn Cullen
History was made yesterday as 69 year old Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, new bishop of Rome and the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide. He is the 267th Pope to succeed St. Peter, God’s representative on earth, the first American pontiff and was elected on the second day of the conclave, achieving a two-thirds majority after only four votes.
As white smoke billowed out from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signalling the election of a new pope, St Peter’s Square in the Vatican City erupted into joyous celebrations. The multi-lingual Pope Leo XIV, originally from Chicago but who has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru, addressed the faithful in Italian, Spanish and Latin, but not his native language of English.
We caught up with some of our local clergy to get their reaction to our new Pope.
Bishop Alan McGuckian
“With joy and gratitude, I welcome the news of the election of Pope Leo XIV as the Bishop of Rome and successor to Saint Peter. On behalf of the Diocese of Down and Connor, I pledge our prayer and heartfelt support for this ‘Son of Saint Augustine’ entrusted with the apostolic mission to shepherd and serve the Church.
Addressing the crowds gathered in Rome yesterday evening, Pope Leo XIV reminded everyone of the universality of the Church and that “God loves us, all of us”. In a world torn apart by conflict, war and confusion, he encourages us to be heralds of peace and unity.
I invite all the clergy, religious and laity across the Diocese of Down and Connor to offer prayers of thanksgiving. May God’s blessing be upon Pope Leo XIV that he may bring the light of faith to those who are searching and be an instrument of God’s peace in the world”.
Very Rev Ciaran Harkin PP (Church of the Irish Martyrs)
“I, like many know very little about our new Pope Leo XIV, but with his American background and his pastoral experience in Peru, as well as him being in charge of a major department in the Vatican, he certainly has a strong and varied background. So I believe he looks like a very good choice, and we pray for him as he has asked us to”.
Monsignor Kevin Gillespie (Conwal and Leck)
“It’s a great joy. He is a man of great depth and learning with a very wide experience of the life of the Church. He comes to the Papacy with a great perspective of the real life of the Church through the world in all kinds of circumstances, both prosperity and poverty, freedom and persecution. He will be great bridge to bring people into conversation and to peace.
He will bring from the papacy of Pope Francis good things and he will deepen them. In his first mass today in the Sistine Chapel he said the job of a bishop and indeed anyone who exercises a ministry in the Church is to disappear so that Christ can be seen, which is a powerful message and it speaks to his humility.
I think the reason he didn’t speak English on the balcony when addressing the faithful is because he wants to make the point that he belongs to the Church and not to one particular nation.
It’s a weighty office with a lot of responsibility and complex duties with an international impact, but I think he is very well prepared for it, and we pray for him with the help of God”.
Very Rev Kieran McAteer PP (Stranorlar)
“I worked for six years in Peru myself from 1986 to 1993, at the same time as our new pope, though we never crossed paths. I was based in Lima, the capital and he was based in a city called Chiclayo. It was a great experience for me and although there were plenty of challenges working in a third world country, I’m glad to have had the experience and I have very fond memories of that time. The Peruvian people were very warm and welcoming to me.
Having listened to our new Pope, and with the little I do know about him now, I am delighted. I think he will follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis. He certainly has a big task ahead of him but he is taking it on with vigour and he looks very healthy.
He wasn’t one of the front runners. He went in a cardinal and came out a Pope in contrast to the old adage of going in a Pope and coming out a cardinal.
I think it’s a good sign that election was quick, a sign that there is unity in the College of Cardinals.
I’m upbeat and very interested in hearing more about him”.
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