The Catholic Church has a recent leader and congratulations are pouring in as Pope Leo XIV prepares to rejoice his first Mass on Friday, a day after his historic election as the primary North American pope within the church’s 2,000-year history.
On Thursday, Cardinal Robert Prevost emerged onto the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on the Vatican, following the conclave and the looks of white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling that a recent pontiff has been chosen. His election overcame the standard prohibition against a pope from the United States.
Leo, a 69-year-old Chicago-born Augustinian missionary who spent his profession ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, wore the standard red cape — which Pope Francis had eschewed on his election in 2013 — suggesting a return to a point of rule-following after Francis’ unorthodox pontificate.
Leo’s first words to the crowds below — “Peace be with you” — emphasized a message of dialogue and missionary evangelization. He spoke to the group in Italian and Spanish, but not English.
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Pope Leo XIV’s first appointments have been set
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni says:
1. Pope Leo XIV will rejoice Mass on Friday morning at 11 a.m. with cardinals within the Sistine Chapel.
2. He plans to deliver his first Sunday noon blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
3. And he plans to carry an audience with the media on Monday within the Vatican auditorium.
China’s state-backed church organizations offer congratulations to the brand new pope
China’s official news agency Xinhua reported on Friday that the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the Bishops’ Conference of Catholic Church in China — each under the Chinese government — congratulated Leo.
The Vatican’s relations with China were severed in 1951 after the Communist Party got here to power and the expulsion of foreign priests. The country’s estimated tens of millions of Catholics were divided into the state-recognized church and an underground one which stayed loyal to Rome.
In 2018, the Vatican and China signed an accord over the thorny issue of bishop nominations, and the deal was prolonged in 2024 regardless that Rome previously acknowledged that it was removed from ideal.
The Holy See’s outreach to China under late Pope Francis has drawn criticism, especially from American conservatives who’ve accused the Vatican of selling out the faithful who’ve been forced underground. Hong Kong’s outspoken Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen also criticized the deal.
Filipinos welcome the first-ever American pontiff
The Philippines is the most important Roman Catholic nation in Asia and there have been hopes the late Pope Francis can be succeeded by a distinguished Filipino Cardinal, Luis Antonio Tagle, from the laidback city of Imus just south of Manila.
Still, Leo’s election was welcomed and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he prays that the brand new pope would “proceed to bring the church closer to the poor and disadvantaged.”
“I wanted the candidate from the Philippines … but let’s accept this selection because this was God’s plan,” Alexandra Bonilla, a 20-year-old student, said at a cathedral in Imus.
Australia’s prime minister says Pope Leo’s leadership comes at an ‘essential time’
Anthony Albanese said on Friday that he’ll invite the brand new pope to the 54th International Eucharistic Congress, a gathering of Roman Catholic clergy and lay people, in Sydney in 2028.
“As the primary North American Pope, Pope Leo XIV’s leadership comes at a very important time for the Catholic Church and for the world,” Albanese, a Catholic, told reporters within the Australian capital Canberra.
What is a core value for Augustinian priests?
A non secular order is a community of Catholics — which might include priests, nuns, monks and even lay people — dedicated to a selected variety of mission and spirituality. A core value for the Order of St. Augustine that the brand new pope belongs to is to “live together in harmony, being of 1 mind and one heart on the method to God.”
Pope Francis was the primary pope from the Jesuit religious order ever, and the primary in greater than a century and a half to come back from any religious order. The previous one was Gregory XVI (1831-1846), a Camaldolese monk. In all, 34 of the 266 popes have belonged to non secular orders — and 6 of them before Leo XIV were Augustinians, in response to America, a Jesuit magazine.
The idea of a US pontiff was taboo. Prevost overcame it
Pope Francis brought Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 to guide the office that vets bishop nominations, probably the most essential jobs within the Catholic Church.
Prevost kept a low public profile in Rome, but was well-known to the boys who count. Significantly, he presided over probably the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope. In early 2025, Francis again showed his esteem by appointing Prevost to essentially the most senior rank of cardinals.
Back in Prevost’s old diocese in Chiclayo, Peru, the Rev. Fidel Purisaca Vigil said Prevost would have breakfast along with his fellow priests after saying his prayers every day. “No matter what number of problems he has, he maintains good humor and joy,” Purisaca said in an email.
▶ Read more about Robert Prevost’s background
