HABEMUS PAPAM!
POPE LEO XVI
PRAYER FOR POPE LEO XIV
God our Father, Shepherd and Guide, look with love on Pope Leo XIV, Your servant, the pastor of Your Church.
May his word and example inspire and guide the Church, and may he, and all those entrusted to his care, come to the joy of everlasting life. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH POPE LEO XIV FROM THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS REPORT
Pope Leo XIV (Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost), a former prefect of the influential Dicastery for Bishops, is a Chicago-born prelate with views close to Pope Francis who spent many years as a missionary in Peru before being elected head of the Augustinians for two consecutive terms.
Born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, Prevost entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) in 1977 and made his solemn vows in 1981.
His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Villanova University in 1977, a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and both a licentiate and doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. His doctoral thesis was on “The role of the local prior in the Order of Saint Augustine.”
His career in the Church has been marked by significant roles and achievements. After his ordination as a priest in 1982, Prevost joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and served as chancellor of the Territorial Prélature of Chulucanas from 1985 to 1986.
He spent the year 1987 to 1988 in the United States as pastor for vocations and director of missions for the Augustinian Province of Chicago before returning to Peru where he spent the next ten years heading the Augustinian seminary in Trujillo and teaching canon law in the diocesan seminary, where he was also prefect of studies. He also served in other capacities there, including as a parish pastor, diocesan official, director of formation, seminary teacher, and judicial vicar.
In 1999, he returned to Chicago and was elected provincial prior of the “Mother of Good Counsel” province in the archdiocese. Two and a half years later he was elected prior general of the Augustinian and served two terms until 2013.
In 2014, he returned to Peru when Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo. He was elevated to Bishop of Chiclayo in 2015. While there, he also served as vice-president and member of the permanent council of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference from 2018 to 2023.
During that time, Peru’s bishops reportedly played an important role in ensuring institutional stability during the successive political crises that led to the overthrows of successive presidents.
In 2020 and 2021, Prevost served as apostolic administrator of Callao, Peru.
Pope Francis appointed Prevost prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023, a powerful position responsible for selecting bishops, a position he held until Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025. On September 30, 2023, Pope Francis elevated Prevost to the rank of Cardinal.
During his first months as prefect, then-Archbishop Prevost continued to remain characteristically discreet in the media, but was reportedly appreciated for his ability to listen and his mastery of issues. Aleteia reported that a French bishop who met him two months after he took office praised his “judicious questions” and his ability to synthesize, stressing that this first contact had left him with a “good impression.”
[…]
Cardinal Prevost is a member of seven Vatican dicasteries as well as the Commission for the Governance (Governatorato) of Vatican City State, indicating how much Pope Francis trusted the cardinal and valued his administrative abilities.
Source: https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/robert-francis-prevost/
THE FIRST WORDS OF POPE LEO XIV
May 8, 2025
Peace be with you!
Dearest brothers and sisters, this was the first greeting of the risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave His life for the flock of God. I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are; and all the peoples, and all the earth: Peace be with you.
This is the peace of the Risen Christ, a disarming and humble and preserving peace. It comes from God. God, who loves all of us, without any limits or conditions. Let us keep in our ears the weak but always brave voice of Pope Francis, who blessed Rome – the Pope who blessed Rome and the world that day on the morning of Easter.
Allow me to continue that same blessing. God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God. Without fear, united, hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we will go forward. We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us, and the world needs His light. Humanity needs Him like a bridge to reach God and His love. You help us to build bridges with dialogue and encounter so we can all be one people always in peace.
Thank you Pope Francis!
Thank you to my Cardinal brothers who chose me to be the Successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a united Church searching all together for peace and justice, working together as women and men, faithful to Jesus Christ without fear, proclaiming Christ, to be missionaries, faithful to the gospel.
I am a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian. He said, “With you I am a Christian, for you a bishop.” So may we all walk together towards that homeland that God has prepared for us.
To the Church of Rome, a special greeting: We have to look together how to be a missionary Church, building bridges, dialogue, always open to receiving with open arms for everyone, like this square, open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, love.
[In Spanish]: Hello to everyone, and especially to those of my diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, a loyal, faithful people accompanying the bishop and helping the bishop.
[Returning to Italian]: To all you brothers and sisters of Rome, Italy, of all the world, we want to be a synodal church, walking and always seeking peace, charity, closeness, especially to those who are suffering.
Today is the day of the Supplicatio [Plea] to Our Lady of Pompei.
Our blessed mother Mary always wants to walk with us, be close to us, she always wants to help us with her intercession and her love. So let us pray together for this mission, and for all of the Church, and for peace in the world.
We ask for this special grace from Mary, our Mother.
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Thanks and God bless you and your loved ones! Fr. Rolly Arjonillo.
