Pope Leo XIV chosen to lead the Church

His previous calling as a missionary in Peru and his current role as the first North American pope highlights the importance and value of missionary work within the Catholic Church.”

Father César Anicama, a priest of the Jefferson City diocese who grew up in Peru

The 267th pope, the first from the United States, projected humble clarity from the moment he stepped out onto the balcony above the throngs in St. Peter’s Square.

His first words, were “Peace be with you all!” — Jesus’s greeting to the Apostles after rising from the dead.

“What I liked about our new pope’s initial appearance to us was his humble confidence,” Archbishop Shawn Mc­Knight told Lester Holt of NBC News May 8, during a live segment from the Vatican.

“He exuded that he’s ‘got this,’ that he understands what it’s all about.”

The largest and most diverse conclave of cardinal electors chose the former Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, a Chicago native, on the second day of their sacred gathering in the Sistine Chapel at St. Peter’s Basilica.

The new pope chose the name Leo XIV.

His papacy will be officially inaugurated during Mass on Sunday, May 18.

He had been serving for three years under Pope Francis as head of the Church’s Dicastery of Bishops.

He attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania, joined the Augustinian order, served as a missionary priest for nearly 15 years in Peru, served as head of the Augustinians’ Chicago province and then as worldwide head of the order, then returned to Peru as a bishop.

Pope Francis summoned him to in the Vatican in 2023.

“I think he’s very well positioned for effective leadership,” said Archbishop McKnight, who will be installed as the archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas on May 27 after leading the Jefferson City diocese for seven years.

“He’s someone who can lead us at this time,” Archbishop McKnight told the NBC audience, “one who will be open to transparency and accountability.”

“Different perspective”

Leo XIV’s papal motto — “In Illo uno unum”— echoes a phrase from a sermon by St. Augustine, founder of the Augustinian order: “Although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.”

Pope Leo holds dual citizenship in the United States and Peru. He is fluent in five languages and has served in extensive pastoral and administrative roles.

“I think his background, his language skills, his diverse experience, the fact that he’s a (member of a religious order) and also from the United States means he has a lot to draw from,” said Archbishop McKnight.

Pope Leo is the first North American to be elected pope and, before the conclave, was the U.S. cardinal most mentioned as a potential successor of St. Peter.

La Repubblica, the major Italian daily, described him April 25 as “cosmopolitan and shy,” but also said he was “appreciated by conservatives and progressives. He has global visibility in a conclave in which few (cardinals) know each other.”

That visibility comes from the fact that as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops for the past two years, he was instrumental in helping Pope Francis choose bishops for many Latin-rite dioceses. He met hundreds of bishops during their “ad limina” visits to Rome and was called to assist the world’s Latin-rite bishops “in all matters concerning the correct and fruitful exercise of the pastoral office entrusted to them.”

The new pope was serving as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, when Pope Francis called him to the Vatican two years ago.

During a talk at St. Jude Parish in Chicago in August, the then-cardinal said Pope Francis nominated him “specifically because he did not want someone from the Roman Curia to take on this role. He wanted a missionary; he wanted someone from outside; he wanted someone who would come in with a different perspective.”

On mission

Pope Leo was born Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Augustinian-run Villanova University in Pennsylvania and joined the order in 1977, professing solemn vows in 1981.

He holds a degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

He speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and can read Latin and German.

Pope Leo joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and largely worked in the country until 1999, when he was elected head of the Augustinians’ Chicago-based province.

From 2001 to 2013, he served as prior general of the worldwide order. In 2014, Pope Francis named him a bishop and assigned him to northern Peru.

Father César Anicama, a priest of the Jefferson City diocese who grew up in Peru, is impressed with the new pope’s apostolic zeal.

“His previous calling as a missionary in Peru and his current role as the first North American pope highlights the importance and value of missionary work within the Catholic Church,” Fr. Anicama stated.

The Jefferson City diocese had its own missions in Peru for over 40 years, beginning in 1962. At the height of that endeavor, as many as 10 percent of the priests of this diocese were ministering in the Peru missions.

Fr. Anicama said Pope Leo’s election gives a powerful message “that missionary priests are not just important, but also deeply appreciated within the Catholic Church, serving communities around the world.”

Walking with others

Bishop Emeritus John R. Gaydos, who led the Jefferson City diocese from 1997-2018, said he recognizes the work of the Holy Spirit in selecting this new pope.

“He’s an ace, especially when you look at the needs of the Church and the potential for growth,” said Bishop Gaydos.

He pointed to the first words Pope Leo XIV spoke publicly after his election.

“He echoed that Easter message Jesus gave after his resurrection, the ultimate victory: ‘Peace be with you all,’” the bishop noted.

Having lived through the reigns of seven popes — five since his own priestly ordination — Bishop Gaydos sees clear continuity from one pontificate to the next.

“The Holy Spirit works like that,” he said, “hopefully, with synodality as a response to the alienation people feel, and the consequences that has for how societies organize themselves.”

Bishop Gaydos noted that the previous pope named Leo — Pope Leo XIII (+1878-1903) — led the Church during the Industrial Revolution, which upended many generations of societal evolution.

“You went from family and the farm and a rather simple existence, to factories and cities and tremendous inequality among people,” said Bishop Gaydos. “In his encyclical letter, “Rerum Novarum,” Leo XIII addressed, among many other things, the individual rights of workers and their right to organize and have a share in the profits of the companies they were working for.”

The social upheaval of that era helped stoke intense nationalism, the rise of divergent ideologies, and other factors that brought about two world wars.

Bishop Gaydos asserted that “if (Leo XIII) hadn’t attempted to have the Church address these things, it would have been even worse.”

These struggles persist, further complicated by the presence of nuclear weapons and the proliferation of artificial intelligence.

“These are things that are supposed to be a boon to humanity, but only if they’re used in a just and peaceful way, rather than to exploit people,” said Bishop Gaydos.

“That’s simply the way of things, going back to the discovery of fire and even to the beginning of humanity,” he said.

Especially today, most of these disruptions lead to widespread loneliness and alienation.

Bishop Gaydos sees open-hearted discernment at all levels of the Church — a process known as synodality — as the remedy.

“Our new pope left no doubts about synodality being at the heart of his mission,” the bishop emeritus stated.

He noted that “synodality” comes from the Greek words for “walking with others.”

“Which dates back to the Book of Genesis and the reason God created Eve: because ‘it is not good for man to be alone.’”

In the unity of the Holy Spirit

Monsignor Robert A. Kurwicki was offering noon Mass in St. Peter Church in Jefferson City when news of the new pope’s identity broke.

“Right at the point when I elevated the chalice, everyone’s phone started to explode that the pope was an American,” said Msgr. Kurwicki, vicar general of the diocese and pastor of St. Peter Parish.

“You could hear the phones go off and people gasping as I was holding up the chalice,” he said. “And the church was full of excitement — the smiles and excitement and joy.”

Msgr. Kurwicki, a history enthusiast, noted that the most recent Augustinian to be elected pope was Pope Eugene IV (+1431-47).

As a fellow Illinois native, he added: “I’m very proud of our new Holy Father.”

“Special moment”

Retired Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry, postulator for the sainthood cause of northeastern Missouri native Venerable Father Augustus Tolton, shares Chicago roots with the new pope.

“Pope Leo XIV harbors an enriched world-view stemming from his ministry of many years in Peru that will serve to remind the faithful of the bonds we share as diverse peoples of the Americas and the bond we have at the same time with our chief shepherd,” said Bishop Perry.

The retired auxiliary noted that the new pope’s name echoes that of Leo XIII, whom historians often refer to as “the social justice pope.”

“With the encyclical letter ‘Rerum Novarum,’ Leo XIII set the stage for the Church’s socio-moral teaching and a reformation of conscience in how we deem each other’s dignity as children of God,” Bishop Perry noted.

Bishop Michael J. Sis of San Angelo, Texas, occasionally visits the Jefferson City diocese, his ancestors having helped establish Shrine of St. Patrick Parish in northeastern Missouri in the 1830s.

“I look forward to (Pope Leo’s) ministry as the universal shepherd of 1.4 billion Catholics around the world,” Bishop Sis said. “As he takes up this new cross, I trust that the Holy Spirit will give him all the spiritual gifts he needs to carry out his duties faithfully. ... May his style of leadership always bear the imprint of our Lord Jesus.”

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a member of Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish in Jefferson City, said he and Missouri First Lady Claudia Kehoe join Catholics throughout the state and the world in praying for Pope Leo XIV.

“This is a very special moment for American Catholics,” the governor stated.

He noted that the new pope has a connection to Missouri, having attended the Augustinian Novitate in St. Louis.

“It was there that he learned the joys and responsibilities of religious life,” said Gov. Kehoe.

“He has always been a strong voice for the most vulnerable in society, especially the unborn,” the governor continued. “May the Holy Spirit guide him, and may his leadership provide unity for Catholics around the world.”

“Full of hope”

Archbishop McKnight pointed to two serious crises that will require the new Pope’s ongoing attention.

“The abuse of power as well as the financial scandals that are affecting our Church — we’ve got to address the problems directly and head-on,” said Archbishop McKnight.

He and a group of pilgrims from the Jefferson City diocese arrived in Rome on a Jubilee Year of Mercy pilgrimage the day the conclave began to elect a successor to Pope Francis, who died the morning after Easter Sunday.

The pilgrims were near the ancient Colosseum in Rome when word came that white smoke was billowing from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel — signaling that a new pope was about to be named.

“So, we made it as fast as we could here to St. Peter’s Square,” Archbishop McKnight told KSHB-TV in Kansas City. “And we made it in time to see the Holy Father, Leo XIV, come out and give his blessing.”

Archbishop McKnight said that he, like many others, never thought he’d live to see a pope from the United States; yet, it seems providential.

“I think he’s got the prospects of being a very effective leader for our Church,” the archbishop stated.

Archbishop McKnight told the KSHB-TV audience that he was happy to hear Pope Leo mention synodality in his initial greeting to the city and to the world.

“That’s going to be the path forward on all of our crises,” the archbishop stated. “It’s going to be listening to the people and also consulting the people who have the ability and the skill sets to tackle the problems.

“I’m very optimistic,” he said. “I’m beaming with joy right now and my heart is full of hope.”

“Toward unity”

In an interview in 2023 with Vatican News, then-Cardinal Prevost spoke about the essential leadership quality of a bishop.

“We must not hide behind an idea of authority that no longer makes sense today,” he said. “The authority we have is to serve, to accompany priests, to be pastors and teachers.”

As prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, then-Cardinal Prevost also served as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, where nearly 40% of the world’s Catholics reside.

Soon after coming to Rome to head the dicastery, he told Vatican News that bishops have a special mission of promoting the unity of the Church.

“The lack of unity is a wound that the Church suffers, a very painful one,” he said in May 2023. “Divisions and polemics in the Church do not help anything. We bishops especially must accelerate this movement toward unity, toward communion in the Church.”

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the Church in the United States rejoices that a son of this nation has been chosen to be pope, “but we recognize that he now belongs to all Catholics and to all people of good will.”

“His words advocating peace, unity, and missionary activity already indicate a path forward,” Archbishop Broglio said in a May 8 statement.

The archbishop sees that the Church has been blessed with a series of popes, “each uniquely prepared for his particular moment in history, yet sharing a common mission to proclaim the ageless truth of the Gospel.”

“I rejoice in the international experience of the new Bishop of Rome who has been a student and superior in Rome, a bishop in Peru, and charged with the Dicastery for Bishops,” said Archbishop Broglio.

“Gracious gift”

The morning after Pope Leo was elected, Archbishop McKnight and the Missouri pilgrims celebrated Mass at the Altar of the Chair of St. Peter in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

The Mass was offered for the newly elected pope.

“What a gracious gift God has given us in his pontificate,” Archbishop McKnight said in a May 9 interview with Father Anthony J. Saiki of the Kansas City archdiocese.

“We pray that he will be very successful in keeping us close to Christ and in close communion with the Church,” the archbishop said.

Cindy Wooden is chief of the Rome bureau for Catholic News Service.

Also contributing to this report was Vatican News Service.