Viva il Papa
ramblings on a most joyous occasion
“Peace be with all of you!”
These were the first words of the risen Christ - and now, the first greeting to the world from the newly elected Pope Leo XIV.
I’m sure the jubilation among the apostles hearing those words of peace from the resurrected Christ was similar to those whose joyful cheers we heard in St Peter’s Square at the announcement of “Habemus Papam!”
And why shouldn’t we be joyful? This is an historic moment for the Church.
I’m not going to pretend to know much about our new Holy Father, beyond that I was familiar with his name given that he was a high ranking Vatican official as the Prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops. His name also appeared as a prospective candidate for the Papacy in reports on Catholic news sites last week. Including this one, from
.What we do know about him is that Pope Leo XIV is the first pope born in the United States and also a naturalised Peruvian, having spent much of his priestly and episcopal ministry in Peru.1 An adopted Latino, as it were. The first pope with a Twitter account that predates his papacy. An Augustinian, a mathematician, and a canon lawyer who studied at the Angelicum, which no doubt excites my Thomist and Dominican friends. And notably, as far as I can tell, the first pope elected in a conclave with no cardinal-electors who attended the Second Vatican Council - a generational turning point.
This is very much a pope for the 21st century.
The choice of the name Leo seems to underline that the new pontiff recognises a generational shift. Leo XIII, his 19th century predecessor, led the Church during an age of industrial upheaval and helped shape how the Church should interact with modernity. In 1891, he wrote the landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum, which established the framework for contemporary Catholic social teaching. This encyclical boldly addressed the dignity of labour, the rights of workers, and the responsibilities of employers and the state.
Similarly, Pope Leo XIV steps into a world marked by new forms of economic and social complexities: the rise of artificial intelligence, the fragmentation of labour in the gig economy, and the far-reaching revolution of techno-capitalism and its impact on human relationships. These issues strike at the heart of what it means to be a human, in and of the world. Yesterday, in his first homily as pope, Leo XIV named this reality clearly, warning of a world that “prefers other securities, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure”, where “Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent”.
He continued:
“These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society. And these are not few.”
Having reflected on his exceptional first homily, I suspect Leo XIV will return often to questions of technology, the human soul, and the Gospel’s place in a postmodern world. That could prove wildly wrong of course, but given the rapid transformation of human relationships in recent years - how people meet and communicate - I am at least hopeful that this will be a key theme in the years ahead.
In his homily to the College of Cardinals, he also challenged us to joyfully live out our faith amidst these struggles, to preach the Gospel, lest we fall into what he described as “a state of practical atheism”, whereby even Christians reduce Jesus “to a kind of charismatic leader or superman”. Pope Leo reminded us of our call to everyday repeat with his predecessor, the first pope St Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16).
I am incredibly hopeful with the faith that the Church is in good hands with Pope Leo XIV. His mission is immense, but so too is the grace entrusted to him. Like Peter before him, he steps forward not because he is perfect, but because he is answering the call. May we all join him in bravely answering the call of the risen Lord. And like all of us, he will need prayers. So let us pray for the pope - may peace be with him.
Interestingly, he has never been a member of the United States Conference of Bishops.