By Luke Stocking, Interim Executive Director
“Peace be with you!” With these words, Pope Leo XIV greeted the world.
Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada joins the world in receiving this blessing. In union with the Church in Canada, we welcome our new Holy Father with an open and joyful heart. As urged by our bishops, we pray for the success of his Petrine ministry
The whole world is now abuzz with the question, “Who is Robert Francis Prevost?”
In the days ahead, the media will continue to be filled with stories of the first Pope born in the United States and indeed all of North America. We have heard how he was born into a family of French, Italian and Spanish descent. We have heard that he was a priest from the Augustinian religious order who became a citizen of Peru, where he lived for over 20 years, serving as a missionary and eventually a bishop.
Pope Leo XIV: What’s in the shepherd’s name?
Our Peruvian partner, CEAS, posted several photos of our new Pope from his time in their country on Facebook. In their message, they said, “Thanks to the Holy Spirit for enlightening our 133 cardinals who voted to follow the line set by our beloved Pope Francis, of a true reform of our Church―one that is poor; that prioritizes the preferential option for the poor; that is at the service of others; that is in the world, with shepherds who have the smell of the sheep; and that is concerned about the care of creation and our common home. The hope of living the Kingdom of God in this world lives on.”
Their message echoes the voices of many who see in our new Holy Father a spiritual leader whose witness, through word and action, speaks to the centrality of Catholic Social Teaching in the mission of the Church. His choice of the name Leo XIV will invite much of the world to learn about Catholic Social Teaching in these early days of discovering him. The last Pope of that name, Pope Leo XIII, is considered the first to have formally articulated those teachings in his encyclical Rerum Novarum.
Our own national council member, the Most Rev. Martin Laliberté, pointed out the significance of the choice of the name Leo XIV in an interview with Radio Canada (watch video in French). He explained, “It tells us about his concern for little folk, for the poor, and his history as a missionary in Peru, in Chiclayo. Chiclayo isn’t Lima. It’s not New York, it’s not Chicago, it’s not Rome. It’s a small diocese.”
It was in this little diocese, a place Pope Francis would have described as a “periphery” of the world, that Pope Leo was ordained a bishop in 2015. During his pontificate, the late Holy Father created 163 cardinals from 76 countries. Twenty-five of these countries had never been represented before in the College of Cardinals. This was the most diverse conclave in history, honouring the universality of our Catholic Church. Kevin Clarke, the chief correspondent of America Magazine has posed the question, “Is Pope Leo XIV the first ‘pope of the periphery’?”
While Chicago, United States, is certainly not the periphery, Chiclayo, Peru, is. Pope Leo XIV is a bridge between them. His episcopal motto, In illo uno unum (In the one Christ, we are one), speaks to his belief in unity and peace.
“Peace be with you!” How sorely this peace is needed in the violent world of today! Pope Leo reminded us that this is no ordinary peace. “It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.”
We pray for the Holy Father as he begins his pontificate. We stand in hope that he will unify the Church on the path that Pope Francis has set us upon and continue to embolden us in our own mission as Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada.