“Peace be with you!”
These words from the Resurrected Jesus to His apostles in the upper room on the first day of the week were the first words spoken by our newly elected pontiff of the Catholic Church.
He’s an American from Chicago and a Republican.
The conclave to elect the next pope began last Wednesday. From all the YouTube videos I have been watching, I expected the process to take about a week because, reportedly, none of the cardinal electors knew each other. Boy, was I wrong? The conclave lasted two days, and it took four ballots to elect Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost? Who is that?
I think that was everyone’s reaction when we heard the news last Thursday after white smoke emerged from the top of the Sistine Chapel amid a flock of seagulls.
After his election, Cardinal Prevost took the name Leo XIV, which I really like. Pope Leo I, also known as Pope Saint Leo the Great, met face-to-face with Attila the Hun in 452 as the whole Hun army encamped on Rome. Nobody except Pope Leo, Attila, and God Himself knows what was said that day, but the invading army turned around after the meeting and left Rome intact. Also, my dad’s family is buried at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Leonville. So I have a family connection to the name.
Then, over a century ago, Leo XIII was pope during the Industrial Revolution and took a hard stance against communism and fascism. He stood up for worker’s rights while focusing on Catholic social teaching.
Ok, so we knew Cardinal Prevost took the name Leo XIV, but we still did not know much about him. After he was elected, I read a little about him online and liked what I read.
Later Thursday afternoon, I drove to Mangham to cover the Oakdale baseball quarterfinal baseball game. After I got to the park, I saw a social media post showing the marquee at Wrigley Field saying that Leo XIV was a Cubs fan. My heart was filled with joy.
As the days progressed, I learned more about Leo XIV and liked what I found out. So far he is showing qualities of all recent popes from JPII to Francis. He seems to be a traditionalist on dogma while being progressive on climate change and immigration. He also shows a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. To me, it’s a good mix.
One ding against him, though. News came out that he is actually a White Sox fan and was present at Comiskey Park during the 2005 World Series against the Astros. Oh well, he still picked a great name.
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