By Cindy Wooden CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – Ser religioso no significa automáticamente que alguien sea compasivo, y sin embargo para un cristiano la compasión es un signo claro de seguir a Cristo, dijo el Papa León XIV. “Antes que una cuestión religiosa, ¡la compasión es una cuestión de humanidad! Antes de ser creyentes, estamos llamados a ser humanos”, dijo el Papa el 28 de mayo durante su audiencia general en la Plaza de San Pedro.
Al final de la audiencia, el Papa León abogó de nuevo por la paz en Gaza y en Ucrania. “Desde la Franja de Gaza se eleva al cielo, cada vez con mayor intensidad, el grito de madres y padres que, abrazados a los cuerpos sin vida de sus hijos, se ven obligados continuamente a desplazarse en busca de algo de comida y un refugio más seguro de los bombardeos”, dijo el Papa. “A los dirigentes, renuevo mi llamado: Cesen los disparos; liberen a todos los rehenes; respeten plenamente las leyes humanitarias”.
El Papa León XIV comienza su audiencia general rezando con los visitantes y peregrinos reunidos en la Plaza de San Pedro del Vaticano el 28 de mayo de 2025. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
Y tras días en los que Rusia ha incrementado sus ataques contra Ucrania, matando civiles y destruyendo infraestructuras, el papa aseguró al pueblo ucraniano su “cercanía y mis oraciones por todas las víctimas, especialmente los niños y las familias”.
“Renuevo con fuerza mi llamamiento para detener la guerra y apoyar toda iniciativa de diálogo y de paz”, dijo. “Pido a todos que se unan a las oraciones por la paz en Ucrania y dondequiera que la gente sufra a causa de la guerra”.
La catequesis principal del Papa en la audiencia se centró en la parábola del buen samaritano, una historia que, según el Papa, ofrece importantes lecciones para los cristianos, pero también es fuente de esperanza.
“La falta de esperanza, a veces, se debe a que nos quedamos atrapados en una cierta forma rígida y cerrada de ver las cosas, y las parábolas nos ayudan a mirarlas desde otro punto de vista”, dijo el Papa León.
La parábola del buen samaritano es una lección evidente sobre la compasión y el reconocimiento del prójimo. Pero también dice algo sobre la compasión de Jesús.
“También podemos vernos a nosotros mismos en el hombre que cayó en manos de los ladrones, porque todos hemos experimentado las dificultades de la vida y el dolor provocado por el pecado”, dijo en su resumen en inglés. “En nuestra fragilidad, descubrimos que Cristo mismo es el Buen Samaritano que cura nuestras heridas y restaura nuestra esperanza”.
El hombre herido al borde del camino “nos representa a cada uno de nosotros”, dijo, y recordar “todas las veces que Jesús se detuvo para cuidar de nosotros nos hará más capaces de compasión”.
Ser compasivo, dijo, no es sólo un sentimiento; significa pasar a la acción.
La parábola, dijo el Papa León en su resumen en español, está dirigida a un alguien que, a pesar de conocer las Escrituras, considera la salvación como un derecho que le es debido. Esta parábola “le ayuda a cambiar de perspectiva, y a pasar de centrarse en sí mismo a ser capaz de acoger a los otros, sintiéndose llamado a hacerse prójimo de los demás, sin importar quienes sean, y no sólo juzgar cercanas a las personas que lo aprecian”.
“La parábola gira en torno al camino que hace cada personaje, al modo de aproximarse a los demás y a cómo se comporta cada uno cuando ve al prójimo en dificultad”, continuó el Papa. “El texto nos pide reflexionar sobre nuestra capacidad de detenernos en el camino de la vida, de poner al otro por encima de nuestra prisa, de nuestro proyecto de viaje”.
“Si quieres ayudar a alguien, no puedes pensar en mantenerte a distancia, tienes que implicarte, ensuciarte, quizás contaminarte”, dijo el Papa, señalando que, en la parábola, el buen samaritano limpia y venda las heridas del hombre y lo lleva a un lugar seguro.
Brazilian Sister Marizele Isabel Cassiano Rego is seen in an undated photograph. Two Brazilian nuns have gone viral worldwide after a May 28, 2025, video showed them beatboxing and dancing hip hop on Catholic TV – drawing comparisons to a real-life “Sister Act.” (OSV News/courtesy Copiosa Redenção)
NACIÓN CIUDAD DE OKLAHOMA (OSV News) – Se insta a los católicos a asistir en gran número a los eventos de la Peregrinación Eucarística Nacional, a medida que aumentan las protestas anticatólicas a lo largo de los 5.380 kilómetros de la Ruta de Santa Catalina Drexel. Los manifestantes, muchos de ellos de la Iglesia de Wells en Wells, Texas, han atacado las procesiones eucarísticas, denunciando las creencias católicas, en particular la presencia real de Jesús en la Eucaristía. Hasta 50 manifestantes, entre ellos niños, se enfrentaron a los peregrinos en Oklahoma entre el 30 de mayo y el 2 de junio. Los organizadores esperan que aumenten las manifestaciones a medida que la peregrinación de 36 días avance por Texas y California. “Esto es caminar con nuestro Señor contra los ataques”, dijo Jason Shanks, presidente de National Eucharistic Congress Inc., instando a los católicos a dar testimonio con valentía pero de forma pacífica. Desaconsejó enfrentarse a los manifestantes y hizo hincapié en la oración, la humildad y la caridad. La peregrinación, que comenzó el 18 de mayo en Indianápolis, incluye paradas diarias para la misa, la adoración y el servicio. Los organizadores están vigilando la seguridad, pero no han modificado el programa. Estableciendo un paralelismo con el camino de Jesús por la Vía Dolorosa, la ruta que recorrió llevando la cruz en Jerusalén hasta su crucifixión y muerte, Shanks dijo que los peregrinos están recorriendo “el Camino de la Cruz”.
VATICANO CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – Aunque el papa Francisco ya fijó el 3 de agosto como fecha para declarar la santidad del beato Pier Giorgio Frassati, el papa León XIV celebrará una reunión con los cardenales para aprobar su canonización y la de otras siete personas. La reunión, conocida como “consistorio público ordinario”, está prevista para el 13 de junio, según ha anunciado el Vaticano. Los cardenales que viven en Roma o están de visita en la ciudad están invitados a participar en el consistorio, que suele ser un servicio de oración que incluye la lectura de una breve biografía del candidato a la santidad, la solicitud del papa a los cardenales para que aprueben la canonización y, por lo general, el anuncio de la fecha de la ceremonia. Dado que la canonización del beato Carlo Acutis, prevista para el 27 de abril, se pospuso tras la muerte del papa Francisco, es posible que, junto con el consistorio, el Vaticano anuncie una nueva fecha para proclamarlo santo.
MUNDO SÃO PAULO (OSV News) – Dos monjas brasileñas se han vuelto virales en todo el mundo después de que un vídeo del 28 de mayo las mostrara haciendo beatboxing y bailando hip hop en la televisión católica, lo que ha provocado comparaciones con la película “Sister Act”. Las hermanas Marizele Isabel Cassiano Rego y Marisa de Paula Neves, de las Hermanas de la Copiosa Redención, estaban promocionando un evento vocacional en la cadena Pai Eterno cuando se lanzaron a una animada actuación llena de fe. El vídeo, grabado el 20 de mayo en el estado de Goiás, llamó la atención de celebridades como Viola Davis y Whoopi Goldberg, que elogiaron su alegre testimonio en el programa “The View” de la ABC. Conocidas por utilizar la música y la danza en su ministerio con drogadictos, ambas hermanas afirman que la evangelización creativa ayuda a romper estereotipos y a conectar con los jóvenes. “La gente piensa que las monjas son rígidas”, dijo la hermana Marizele a OSV News. “Pero cuando nos ven cantar y bailar, ven quiénes somos realmente”. Su enfoque vibrante está inspirando ahora a los jóvenes a ponerse en contacto con la Iglesia.
CorazónInmaculado de la Bienaventurada Virgen María 28 de junio
Santos Pedro y Pablo, Apóstoles 29 de junio
Santo Tomas, Apóstoles 3 de julio
Día de la Independencia de los Estados Unidas 4 de julio
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Especial de Sacramentos
Mississippi Catholic publicará una edición especial de Sacramentos (Spring Sacraments) en julio. Necesitamos fotos de Primera Comunión y Confirmación. Envie fotografías grupales a Mississippi Catholic. La fecha límite final para las presentaciones es el viernes 7 de julio. editor@jacksondiocese.org
Parish bulletins now burst with joyful announcements that spring Baptisms, First Communions and Confirmations are being celebrated on grace-filled days in churches near and far. Summer weddings, and the summer anniversaries they beget, lie just around the corner. Dioceses will be blessed with the springtime ordinations of their new shepherds, and many who have lived their vocations for decades will celebrate their special jubilees.
At the same time, the rapidly waning days of the school year bring final recitals, sports championships, honors convocations, awards ceremonies and graduations. After decades of university life, I am no stranger to these happy events – and they never get old!
In the weeks ahead, many of us will have the chance to wish each other well on these joyful days of celebration. The word that will cross our lips so naturally, be written in our cards so effortlessly, and caption photographs in our social media feeds so frequently is the jubilant greeting, “congratulations.”
To my mind, this is one of the most beautiful words we share with each other. Congratulations is a word fused together from the Latin words “con,” meaning “with,” and “gratus,” the same root as our word “gratitude.” This is not an obscure accident of etymology. Instead, there is something deeply beautiful about the fact that at the most joyous moments of our lives we choose to greet each other with an expression of thankfulness.
We wish each other well, we praise those who have accomplished great things, and we tell our loved ones how proud we are of them as they mark the milestones of their lives. However, first and foremost, we do this – consciously or not – by expressing our gratitude. Words matter. The way in which gratitude is embedded in the very language of our celebrations is worth remembering in the days ahead any time we are blessed to speak a word of exuberant congratulations to our loved ones, or to hear it back from them.
That gratitude goes first toward God who begins all good works. The celebration of good works brought to completion is also the chance to remember to ask God’s blessings on the many new works about to begin.
It is gratitude toward friends and family, without whose love and encouragement so many celebrations may never come to fruition. Whenever I attend my own students’ graduations, I see how much they realize their achievement also belongs to those who loved them along the way.
It is gratitude for obstacles overcome, second chances given, fears conquered, opportunities seized, friendships nurtured, memories shared, good examples seen, disappointments endured and prayers answered – over and over again.
Perhaps, however, “congratulations,” and the gratitude embedded in it, is a word that should not just be kept for those special moments of celebration. Maybe, instead, it should be part of our everyday lives. Perhaps it is a word that can remind us that every day can be lived with a heart that is full of gratitude. Maybe these ordinary days hold no momentous milestones. But, so often they are filled with the blessings of quiet victories, temptations overcome, kind words exchanged, harsh words held back, needy neighbors nurtured, children loved and challenges of all kinds faced and fought with quiet courage.
If this season, you or your loved ones are celebrating a special event, I hope that gratitude fills your hearts and that you greet each other with that joyful word of thankfulness, “Congratulations!” And my best wishes to you too.
However, when those celebrations have passed and life returns to the more mundane, I hope that you will still live with this beautiful spirit of gratitude for all the smaller triumphs that fill everyday life – even when no one notices. “Congratulations,” with gratitude, for any day lived well in ordinary times.
(Lucia A. Silecchia is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at The Catholic University of America. “On Ordinary Times” is a bi-weekly column reflecting on the ways to find the sacred in the simple. Email her at silecchia@cua.edu.)
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The U.S. Supreme Court on May 30 allowed the Trump administration to end deportation protections for more than 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela – typically Catholic-majority countries – while an appeal of the president’s order is still pending.
The Biden administration previously gave some migrants from those four countries the ability to legally enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds, citing dangerous conditions in their countries of origin. Upon President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, his administration revoked that permission, prompting a legal challenge. A federal judge previously blocked the Trump administration from ending the program.
Heidy Sanchez, 44, reacts after talking to her daughter who is in the U.S. during an interview at her home in Havana, Cuba, April 28, 2025. Sanchez, interviewed by Reuters, said she was told she would be deported and separated from her husband, and still-breastfeeding daughter, a U.S. citizen. The U.S. Supreme Court on May 30, allowed the Trump administration to end deportation protections for more than 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. (OSV News photo/Mario Fuentes, Reuters)
The unsigned order did not explain the majority’s rationale.
In a dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, rebuked the high court’s majority in the decision, arguing they “plainly botched” their assessment.
“It requires next to nothing from the Government with respect to irreparable harm,” Jackson wrote. “And it undervalues the devastating consequences of allowing the Government to precipitously upend the lives and livelihoods of nearly half a million noncitizens while their legal claims are pending.”
“Even if the Government is likely to win on the merits, in our legal system, success takes time and the stay standards require more than anticipated victory,” Jackson wrote.
Back in March, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called the termination of the CHNV program “counterproductive” to the Trump administration’s stated goals of promoting respect for the rule of law and reducing strain on U.S. communities.
“We urge the Administration to consider the adverse impact of this action on citizens and noncitizens alike, especially given the ongoing conditions in several of the implicated countries,” the USCCB’s spokeswoman Chieko Noguchi said in a statement provided to OSV News.
Catholic social teaching on immigration, explained by the USCCB, balances three interrelated principles – the right of persons to migrate in order to sustain their lives and those of their families, the right of a country to regulate its borders and control immigration, and a nation’s duty to regulate its borders with justice and mercy.
J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy at the Center for Migration Studies in New York and former director of migration policy for the USCCB, told OSV News, “It is particularly troubling that the administration is targeting immigrants who were invited into the US and entered legally.”
“They also come from countries with oppressive regimes and could be targeted for persecution when they are returned,” Appleby said. “It shows some hypocrisy, as the administration labels immigrants as criminals but still deports those who play by the rules.”
Appleby said individuals from other nations may have been treated differently.
“Let’s be honest, if this program served immigrants from Norway, Sweden, or Afrikaners in South Africa, the administration would not be seeking to terminate it,” he said.
In effect, the Supreme Court’s decision means the Department of Homeland Security can revoke the protected status for these individuals while the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals weighs an appeal of the order itself.
That court’s ruling remains pending.
(Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.)
TUPELO – Graduating students from St. James Parish in Tupelo are pictured, including (front row, from left) Father Tim Murphy, Angel Perez, Emily Lira, Estrella Candanedo, Valeria Diaz, Cindy Gonzalez, Tereza Perez, Lucy Haynes and Evelyn Pickering; (second row) Landon Nelms, Dawson Arriola, Averi Coleman, Andrea Brohawn, Joselin Flores, Nancy Cruz, Vanessa Acosta and Cindy Juarez; (third row) Ethan Arriola, Bryce Vaughn, Angel Mendez, Victor Salgado, Andrew Bizon, Santiago Salgado, Cooper Hairald, Ivan Sanchez, Irvin Fernandez, Michael Gusmus and Emily Lira. (Photo by Michelle Harkins)CLINTON – Holy Savior Church held a senior recognition Mass on May 18. Pictured from left are Carter Rogers, Jackson Rodgers, Father Tom McGing and Greta Nalker. Nalker is a parishioner at Immaculate Conception in Raymond. (Photo by Hunter Yentzen)MERIDIAN – Graduating students were recognized during the St. Patrick Baccalaureate Mass on May 18 with Father Augustine Palimattam. Pictured are Grace Clayton, Sara Daleo, Mauricio Espino, Dominick Espinoza, Jackson Frazier, Emeline Garcia-Ayala, Jose Angel Garcia, Annilyn Hoang, Jean Karol Mayo, Luis Perez, Eduardo Ramirez, Chris Rangel and Valeria Rangel. Not pictured but also recognized were Rachel Daleo, Miranda Rigdon, Kristy Castillo, Sean Auzenne and Grace DeGeneres. (Photo by Kasey Owen)MCCOMB – St. Alphonsus Parish honored its 2025 high school seniors with special artwork celebrating their accomplishments. Pictured in the tribute are Holden Cutrer, John Michael Heroman Jr., Ann Elise Gatlin, Tatum Klug, Renee Pena and Lydia Tullos. (Image courtesy of St. Alphonsus Parish)MERIDIAN – St. Joseph graduates were honored during the Baccalaureate Mass on May 18. Pictured with Father Augustine Palimattam are Jayden Mosley, Lily Zettler and Raven Smith. Not pictured: Zemaree Hampton. (Photo by John Harwell)VICKSBURG – St. Paul Catholic Church graduates Summer Mocknick and Peyton Rainer are pictured with Father Rusty Vincent. Not pictured is Carson Smith. (Photo by Connie Hosemann)LEXINGTON – Central Holmes Christian Academy graduate Daynie Parish was celebrated with a blessing and brunch at St. Thomas the Apostle. (Photo by Samuel Sample)GREENVILLE – Youth were recently recognized during Mass at Sacred Heart Church. Pictured from left are Father Sebastian Myladiyil, SVD; Isai Castillo; Aaliyah Guthrie; Yoselin Frias; Christian Sorrell; and Father Tom Mullally, SVD. (Photo courtesy of Sacred Heart Parish)GRENADA – Father Joseph Ashok offers a blessing to Alexia Lynn Strong at St. Peter Parish. Strong graduated from Grenada High School on May 22, 2025. (Photo courtesy of St. Peter Parish)
By Staff Reports JACKSON – The Diocese of Jackson’s Office of Catholic Education recently completed a major milestone with its system reaccreditation review conducted by Cognia, Inc., from April 8–10, 2025. The review was led by Dr. Michael Bratcher, Cognia’s Director of Accreditation Services and the national liaison for Catholic school accreditation. His extensive experience and expertise in evaluating Catholic institutions made him especially well-suited to assess our system’s distinct governance structure, Canonical foundations and deeply rooted Catholic identity.
JACKSON – On April 8, Father Joe Tonos, Father Gerry Hurley, Father Albeen Vatti and Father Kevin Slattery met with executive director of Catholic Education Karla Luke and Dr. Michael Bratcher, director of accreditation services for Cognia. The Diocese of Jackson received a score of 389 out of 400 by Cognia for outstanding efforts of educators and administrators, who are committed to excellence and mission-driven service. (Photo by Tereza Ma)
Unlike public or independent schools, Catholic school systems require evaluators who understand the unique relationships between pastors and principals, the influence of Canon Law, and the integral role of faith in daily instruction. Dr. Bratcher’s presence marked a significant response to longstanding requests for accreditation professionals who can truly appreciate these complexities.
The Office of Catholic Education was evaluated across four primary domains: Culture of Learning, Leadership for Learning, Engagement of Learning, and Growth in Learning – encompassing 30 rigorous standards. These areas, designed with the student as the central stakeholder, were assessed through surveys, performance data and in-depth classroom observations.
Cognia accreditation is internationally recognized for its high standards and emphasis on continuous improvement. The Diocese of Jackson first earned this prestigious system-wide accreditation in 2019. Under this model, every school in the diocesan system shares in the accreditation status, promoting consistency, excellence and accountability throughout.
Following this year’s engagement review, the Diocese of Jackson received an Index of Educational Quality (IEQ) score of 389 out of 400 – an exceptional result that stands 93 points above Cognia’s global network average of 296. This achievement reflects the outstanding efforts of diocesan Catholic school educators and administrators, who remain committed to excellence and mission-driven service.
Karla Luke, executive director of Catholic Schools said that to achieve a score of this caliber means diocesan school systems are solid, the best practices are imbedded in operations and instruction, and the diocesan Catholic school system is continuously striving for improvement.
“I am so very proud of the efforts of our Catholic School community in the entire Diocese of Jackson. I would like to thank our teachers and administrators for consistently delivering such high-quality education to our students,” said Luke.
The diocese extends special thanks to the leadership team that helped prepare for the review: Mary Arledge (Vicksburg Catholic Schools), Kimberley Burkley (Cathedral Catholic School), Dr. Dena Kinsey (St. Joseph Catholic School, Madison), and Office of Catholic Education staff members Rachel Patterson and Virginia Hollingsworth.
“With this outstanding reaccreditation behind them, diocesan leaders look forward to sharing more exciting developments in Catholic education in the months ahead,” said Luke.
Announcement of Pope Leo XIV at Catholic Schools across the diocese
The election of a new Pope is a momentous event in the Catholic Church, and it reflects the unity and diversity of the global community. It was heartwarming to see students come together to witness this historic moment, share their thoughts, and discuss what it might mean for our faith and the world.
SOUTHAVEN – The level of excitement at the announcement that the newly elected pope was an American was evident in the faces of many students at Sacred Heart School. Left to right, front: Sergio Aurioles, Lucas Delgado and Benjamin Baskin. (Photo by Bridget Martin)JACKSON – St. Richard students applaud at the annoucement of Pope Leo XIV. (Photo by Celeste Saucier)GREENVILLE – Principal Craig Mandolini awaits announcement of the new pope along with St. Joseph students during lunch. (Photo by Nikki Thompson)JACKSON – Pre-K students at Sister Thea Bowman School await the announcement of the next pope. (Photo by Christopher Payne)MADISON – St. Anthony third graders didn’t want to miss a historic moment while on a field trip to the Petrified Forest, so they viewed the announcement of Pope Leo XIV from their teacher’s cell phone! (Photo by Anne Cowger)NATCHEZ – Cathedral School second grader, Jack Ryan jumps up in applause for Pope Leo XIV – the first American pope. (Photo by Brandi Boles)MADISON – Students at St. Joseph School eagerly await the announcement of the new pope on Thursday, May 8. Many students of Catholic schools throughout the diocese followed the papal conclave awaiting white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. (Photo by Dr. Dena Kinsey)COLUMBUS – Middle school students at Annunciation took lunch in classrooms so they could hear the moment that a new pope was announceed to the world. (Photo by Jacque Hince)
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, was elected the 267th pope May 8 and took the name Pope Leo XIV.
He 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.
The white smoke poured from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel at 6:07 p.m. Rome time and a few minutes later the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica began to ring.
About 20 minutes later the Vatican police band and two dozen members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard marched into St. Peter’s Square. They soon were joined by the marching band of the Italian Carabinieri, a branch of military police, and by units of the other branches of the Italian military.
As soon as news began to spread, people from all over Rome ran to join the tens of thousands who were already in the square for the smoke watch. Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri was among them.
French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, protodeacon of the College of Cardinals, appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at 7:12 p.m. He told the crowd: “I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope (‘Habemus papam’),” saying the cardinal’s name in Latin and announcing the name by which he will be called.
Pope Leo XIV, the former Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, waves to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican after his election as pope May 8, 2025. The new pope was born in Chicago. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
Ten minutes later, the new Pope Leo came out onto the balcony, smiling and waving to the crowd wearing the white papal cassock, a red mozzetta or cape and a red stole to give his first public blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world).
The crowd shouted repeatedly, “Viva il papa” or “Long live the pope” as Pope Leo’s eyes appeared to tear up.
“Peace be with you,” were Pope Leo’s first words to the crowd.
“My dear brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for God’s flock,” he said, praying that Christ’s peace would enter people’s hearts, their families and “the whole earth.”
The peace of the risen Lord, he said, is “a peace that is unarmed and disarming.”
Signaling strong continuity with the papacy of Pope Francis, Pope Leo told the crowd that God “loves all of us unconditionally” and that the church must be open to everyone.
“We are all in God’s hands,” he said, so “without fear, united, hand in hand with God and with each other, let us go forward.”
He thanked the cardinals who elected him, apparently on the fourth ballot of the conclave, “to be the successor of Peter and to walk with you as a united church always seeking peace, justice” and together being missionary disciples of Christ.
Telling the crowd that he was an Augustinian, he quoted St. Augustine, who said, “With you I am a Christian and for you a bishop.”
“Together we must try to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges and always dialogues, that is always open to receiving everyone like this square with its arms open to everyone, everyone in need,” he said.
The new bishop of Rome told the people of his diocese and of the whole Catholic Church, “We want to be a synodal church, a church that journeys, a church that seeks peace always, that always seeks charity, that wants to be close to people, especially those who are suffering.”
After asking the crowd to recite the Hail Mary with him, Pope Leo gave his first solemn blessing.
Cardinals over the age of 80, who were not eligible to enter the conclave, joined the crowd in the square. Among them were Cardinals Seán P. O’Malley, the retired archbishop of Boston; Donald W. Wuerl, the retired archbishop of Washington; and Marc Ouellet, retired prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. A longtime missionary in Peru, the 69-year-old pope holds both U.S. and Peruvian citizenship.
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 serving 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 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 in January 2023.
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.”
In a March 2024 interview with Catholic News Service, he said Pope Francis’ decision in 2022 to name three women as full members of the dicastery, giving them input on the selection of bishops “contributes significantly to the process of discernment in looking for who we hope are the best candidates to serve the church in episcopal ministry.”
To deter attitudes of clericalism among bishops, he said, “it’s important to find men who are truly interested in serving, in preaching the Gospel, not just with eloquent words, but rather with the example and witness they give.”
In fact, the cardinal said, Pope Francis’ “most effective and important” bulwark against clericalism was his being “a pastor who preaches by gesture.”
In an interview in 2023 with Vatican News, then-Cardinal Prevost spoke about the essential leadership quality of a bishop.
“Pope Francis has spoken of four types of closeness: closeness to God, to brother bishops, to priests and to all God’s people,” he said. “One must not give in to the temptation to live isolated, separated in a palace, satisfied with a certain social level or a certain level within the church.”
“And 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 then-Cardinal Prevost also served as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, where nearly 40% of the world’s Catholics reside.
A Chicago native, he also served as prior general of the Augustinians and spent more than two decades serving in Peru, first as an Augustinian missionary and later as bishop of Chiclayo.
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 … must accelerate this movement toward unity, toward communion in the church.”
In September, a television program in Peru reported on the allegations of three women who said that then-Bishop Prevost failed to act against a priest who sexually abused them as minors. The diocese strongly denied the accusation, pointing out that he personally met with the victims in April 2022, removed the priest from his parish, suspended him from ministry and conducted a local investigation that was then forwarded to the Vatican. The Vatican said there was insufficient evidence to proceed, as did the local prosecutor’s office.
Pope Leo was born Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Augustinian-run Villanova University in Pennsylvania and joined the order in 1977, making his 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 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 bishop of Chiclayo, in northern Peru, and the pope asked him also to be apostolic administrator of Callao, Peru, from April 2020 to May 2021. The new pope speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and can read Latin and German.
