Leo XIV Calls His Papal Election Both ‘A Blessing And A Cross’
A day after being elected the first U.S.-born pontiff, Pope Leo XIV said on Friday that his elevation was both a blessing and a cross to bear.
While celebrating his first Mass inside the Sistine Chapel as the new head of the Catholic Church, the pope told the cardinals, “You have called me to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission. I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me as we continue as a church, as a community, as friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the good news, to announce the Gospel.”
The Chicago-born missionary Robert Prevost, a member of the Order of Saint Augustin, surprised the world on Thursday when the conclave elected him pope, overcoming the traditional prohibition against a pontiff from the United States.
READ: Leo XIV’s Election Sparks Pride Among Americans Of All Faiths
Prevost, 69, who is also a Peruvian citizen after working in the South American nation as a missionary for much of his life, had kept a low-profile after Pope Francis made him a cardinal two years ago and tapped him to be head of Dicastery for Bishops, which vets nominations.
Speaking in English and Italian, the new pope — who chose the name Leo XIV — decried that the Christian faith in many parts of the world has been dumbed down.
“Even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power or pleasure,” he said.
Leo XIV said that it’s “for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed.”
The new pope’s schedule has started to fill up in the hours after the conclave made its decision. He will be formally installed as pope at a Mass on May 18. The pope is scheduled to preside over his first general audience May 21.
In his homily, the new pontiff recalled that God has called on him to be the successor of Saint Peter, who Catholics regard as the first pope.
“I may be [the church’s] faithful administrator for the sake of the entire mystical body of the church,” Leo XIV said.
Saint Peter, the pope said, made his profession of faith in reply to a specific question: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
The question, he added, highlighted “an essential aspect of our ministry, namely, the world in which we live, with its limitations and its potential, its questions and its convictions.”
Image via X
Not a Cubs fan
Which baseball team does Leo XVI root for? That was the question on the minds of many across the Windy City. There were some extra celebrations on the city’s North Side, where Wrigley Field’s iconic marquee proclaimed: “HEY, CHICAGO. HE’S A CUBS FAN!”
But the new pope’s brother, John Prevost, set the record straight in an interview with WGN-TV: “He was never ever a Cubs fan, so I don’t know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan.”
In a statement, the White Sox said, “Family always knows best.”
The team also said a jersey with the pope’s name emblazoned across the back has been sent to the Vatican as a gift.
“Of course, the pontiff always is welcome at his ballpark,” the team said.
Chicagoans, meanwhile, gathered on Friday morning at Holy Name Cathedral to celebrate Pope Leo XIV’s election.
Bishop Lawrence J. Sullivan, the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago, celebrated the Mass. In his homily, Sullivan said they come to pray and give thanks for the new pope.
“More importantly than celebrating a hometown hero, or far more important than celebrating the fact that we have our first pope from the United States,” he said. “The real celebration is that God has given us a shepherd.”
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged.