We have a pope!

During the recent conclave there was intense speculation (and even wagering) about who would step onto the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica after the white smoke cleared and solemn proclamation rang out, “Habemus Papam.” 

One commentator was confident that he already knew the identity of the man. “It will be the pope!” Period. Full stop. That is, it will be the one the Holy Spirit has chosen for us at this moment in history. 

Habemus Papam! Catholics throughout the world were filled with joy, hope and more than a little surprise at the election of the 267th Bishop of Rome, the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church. 

The election of Leo XIV as our new pope is so captivating because of who the pope is to the people of God. It is no exaggeration to say that the pope embodies the faithfulness of Christ to his Church. 

Our Lord promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his Church. He assured us of this, declaring that he would build his Church upon a firm foundation, upon the rock of Saint Peter the Apostle. 

Peter had confessed that Jesus was not simply another prophet or wise teacher, but that he was the Messiah, the Son of God. His Holiness, Leo XIV, is the successor of Saint Peter and his mission.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, expressed this poignantly at the Mass “pro eligendo Romano Pontifice” opening the conclave, “The election of the new pope is not a simple succession of persons, yet it is always the Apostle Peter who returns.” 

“It is always Peter who returns.” The promise of Christ – which Peter embodies – is fulfilled in Leo XIV. Christ has not left us orphans. He has given us his vicar on earth to guide the Church in its mission of confessing Christ. 

There even is an added and immediate affinity for those of us who are citizens of the United States since Pope Leo was born and raised among us. He is an American from Chicago. He even served at Cascia Hall High School in Tulsa (run by the Augustinian religious order in which he was formed). 

To be honest, I never thought I would see the day when we would have an American pope! It is my prayer that the Church in our country – seeing one of our own on the Chair of Saint Peter – will become ever more closely bound in filial affection and communion to the Church of Rome.

Pope Leo XIV not only brings the vibrancy and vitality of the Church in the United States to his service of the Petrine Ministry, but he also brings the breadth and depth of his service as a priest and bishop in Peru and as a leader regionally and globally within the Order of Saint Augustine. 

Most recently he had been tasked as Prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops, assisting Pope Francis in choosing bishops throughout the world, which undoubtedly gave him a broad and deep grasp of the realities facing the many particular churches. 

He is an accomplished administrator as a religious superior, diocesan bishop and curial prefect. He is a scholar of ecclesial law holding both a licentiate and doctorate in Canon Law. He is a missionary shepherd with a preferential concern for the disenfranchised, the downtrodden and the destitute. He is the pastor given to the Holy Catholic Church for this time in history. 

As an Augustinian friar he is a spiritual son of Saint Augustine and ascribes a great deal of his formation to the saint’s patronage. The charism of this religious order is to build a communion of mind and heart in walking together to God. 

I expect Pope Leo will bring this great emphasis on communion, unity and charity to the Universal Church. He already taught us from the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica about the need to build bridges, but only after calling Jesus Christ the bridge by which God and his love reach us. 

Peter is the rock upon which Jesus Christ builds the communion of his Church, and Peter returns to us in Leo XIV!