The election of the first American pope has drawn global attention to the Catholic Church.
Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was elected to the papal seat Wednesday with at least 89 of the 133 votes, securing the two-thirds majority required to become pope.
Prevost chose the name Pope Leo XIV and greeted the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square with his first words as pope: “Peace be with you.”
Leo XIV is the first American in history to be elected pope. He was born in Chicago in 1955, joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977 and was ordained a priest in 1982. In 1985, he joined an Augustinian mission in Peru, where he served for many years and obtained dual citizenship in the U.S. and Peru.
Leo was recalled to the Vatican from Peru by Pope Francis in 2023.
His appointment came as a surprise to many observers, who viewed him as an unlikely choice due to both his American background and his reputation as a political moderate within the Church.
Father Rectorino Mendoza Tolentino Jr., of Sacred Heart Cathedral, commented on the outcome of the vote in an interview with The Citizen.
“The Lord always gives us a surprise,” said Father Rectorino. “That’s the work of the Holy Spirit — to deliver His message. And sometimes the message comes to us in more surprising ways.”
Father Rectorino also said he hopes Leo XIV will follow the example set by the last pope to bear the name Leo.
“Pope Leo XIII was the one who started the reform we call Rerum Novarum,” he said. “This was an encyclical in the Church that addressed social and economic issues. The very fact that the new pope, Cardinal Prevost, chose the name Leo is making a statement — that he will continue the legacy of Pope Francis, and at the same time, he will also put his own touch on this exciting time in Church leadership.
“Briefly looking at his history, he worked with the poorest of the poor in Peru before he was named a bishop, before he was named a cardinal, and before he went to Rome to work more closely with the Holy Father.”
While the choosing of a new pope is often seen as a political process, Father Rectorino said he hopes the Church can unify around its new leader.
“I want to avoid the words conservative and traditional,” he said. “Rather, I’d like to see that every leader in the Church, like that of the Pope, will bring the Church into unity — into oneness — in the same way as our Lord Jesus Christ prayed, that all may be one.
“With the new pope, there is hope that he will continue that work of bringing the people of God united, together, journeying toward where the Lord wants to lead us.”
Father Rectorino also expressed excitement that the new pope is American, a development that has energized his local church community.
“Now we have a pope who came from the land of America. This is an exciting time in the Church, and for my fellow Catholics, we are all rejoicing that we have been given a new pope who will lead us.
“In the celebration of the Catholic Mass, every time we celebrate it, the name of the pope is mentioned. We will get used to saying Leo XIV, our pope, in the prayer of the Mass.”
The Citizen also received a statement from Bishop Stephen Jensen, who reflected on the historic nature of the appointment.
“We thank God for giving us another successor of St. Peter — the 267th! This is a reminder of the universality of the Church: a second pope from the New World and a son of the United States. Perhaps also evidence that the young churches of the Western Hemisphere have matured to take their place alongside the older churches of Europe.”
