HABEMUS PAPAM IS BALM TO CATHOLIC EARS

Saro Thiruppathy reports on the recent election of Pope Leo XIV after the demise of Pope Francis I and what Catholics can expect from him

Even though Pope Francis I was in poor health for some time and had been hospitalised as well, the Roman Catholic community was overjoyed to receive the Holy Father’s blessings on Easter Sunday as they stood in St. Peter’s Square waiting to hear mass that day.

But unfortunately, that joy was to be short-lived because a few hours later, the pontiff suffered a stroke, went into a coma and experienced irreversible cardiac arrest before passing away.

The announcement of the pope’s death shocked the faithful and Catholics around the world went into mourning while remembering the exceptional legacy he had left behind, as well as his belief in the love, understanding and inclusivity of all of God’s children.

Francis I broke with tradition and wanted to be buried in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. As a follower of Jesus, this pope wanted his tomb to be in the ground and bear only the inscription ‘Franciscus.’ In his last will, he mentioned the cost of his burial would be covered by a sum provided by a benefactor.

The late pope also asked that his body should be placed in a single wooden coffin rather than the traditional nested coffins of cypress, lead and oak, which usually contain the papal remains.

CARDINAL PREVOST The College of Cardinals – as they voted for Cardinal Robert Prevost to be the new Bishop of Rome – carefully considered the life of the late pontiff; Francis I’s firm belief in the need for social justice; and his advocacy for the poor, marginalised and oppressed people of the world.

Prevost was born in the US in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent. He first served as an altar boy, was ordained as a priest in 1982, served the Peruvian people for 20 years and was appointed a cardinal in 2023.

After studying at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers and then at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, he earned a degree in mathematics and also studied philosophy.

Prevost later entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) in Saint Louis and received his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago. He was then sent to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST).

CHOICE OF NAME Many Catholics were curious to know why the new pope chose to call himself Leo XIV – because traditionally, the new appointee seeks to continue the name of his predecessor.

However, the late pontiff had broken tradition when he chose the name Francis after St. Francis of Assisi rather than Benedict XVII.

Pope Leo XIII had led the faithful from 1873 to 1903 and his most valuable achievement was the formal institution of a social doctrine in the Catholic Church, which addressed the conflict between labour and capital.

The famous social encyclical titled Rerum Novarum (1891) resulted in a magisterium, which is the official teaching authority that’s entrusted to popes and their bishops.

Rerum Novarum was an extremely progressive document at the time as it proposed moral principles, criteria for action and practical guidelines, which would provide the church with a morally sound theological understanding of the mutual duties between labour and capital, and governments and their citizenry.

So Cardinal Prevost’s choice of the name Leo XIV wasn’t a random selection; being instead, a carefully considered act by the new pontiff to inform Catholics about what his beliefs are and the direction that a stewardship under him would take.

GOOD SHEPHERD The election of the 69 year old cardinal on 8 May was a momentous event for the Catholic community.

As they had watched black smoke emerge from the Vatican on three separate occasions, signalling that the cardinals were unable to choose a new pope, they were disappointed but maintained faith in the process.

Then suddenly, the billowing white smoke announced ‘Habemus Papam’ (‘We have a pope’) to a watching and waiting world.

A short while later, Prevost appeared on the Vatican’s balcony in all his papal vestments and – for the first time as Pope Leo XIV – greeted the enormous cheering crowds that were standing prayerfully in St. Peter’s Square.

As he blessed them, the new pope’s message of unity and compassion carried tremendous weight, giving hope to anxious Catholics worldwide who sought a strong and just pontiff to lead the church in these turbulent times.

His message was simple: “All of us are in God’s hands. So let us move forward without fear, together, hand in hand with God and with one another other. We are followers of Christ.”

“I am a son of Saint Augustine, who once said that ‘with you, I am a Christian; and for you, I am a bishop.’ In this sense, all of us can journey together towards the homeland that God has prepared for us.” he affirmed.

Viva il Papa – long live the pope!