A new Shepherd at the top
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Pope Leo XIV is the bishop of Rome, the newly elected head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He was elected pope in the 2025 conclave on May 8, following the death and funeral of Pope Francis. He was a Cardinal, Robert Francis Prevost, OSA.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, and raised in a town near the city's South Side, Prevost became a friar of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained priest in 1982. His service has included extensive missionary work in Peru from 1985 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1998, where he variously served as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013, he later returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and made him a cardinal the same year.
A United States citizen and a naturalized citizen of Peru, Leo XIV is the first pope from North America, the first from Peru, and the second from the Americas after Francis. He is the first pope from the Order of Saint Augustine. His papal name was inspired by Pope Leo XIII, who developed Catholic social teaching.
When I first heard about his elevation to Pope, I was speechless: A Pope born in USA, who would have believed it? Judging by the jubilation in St. Peter’s Square, the abundant joy, we’ve got a great Pope. Since the 17th century, the papal apartments have been the official residence of the pope. They occupy much of the top floor of the Apostolic Palace, and Leo XIV has moved in.
Let us pray for Pope Leo XIV, that the Holy Spirit my guide him and keep him well.
Peace and Good,
Fred
