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Dear Families,
Peace be with you! Today is a wonderful day, and a historic one, for people around the world, especially for the 1.4 billion Catholics. Today a new Pope was elected, and has chosen the name Pope Leo XIV. Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, Illinois in 1955, he is the 267th Bishop of Rome and Successor of Peter. He is also our first American Pope! I encourage you to read his biography here, from the Vatican website. There you can also re-watch the footage of his address.
What struck me most about his address to the world was his humility, the way that he was visibly choked up by the sheer magnitude of the crowd gathered, and his task at hand. As I listened to the translation, what struck me was his call for us to continue to be a synodal people, and to be missionary disciples. Most of all, Pope Leo XIV has called us to be bridge builders. “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.”
What do we know about the reason for choosing his name? I am sure there is more to come in the days ahead, but to give some context or idea, his name predecessor, Leo XIII, was Pope during the Industrial Revolution, and focused and fought for the life and dignity of workers, and unsafe and dangerous working conditions. Based on the values of the Augustinian order of which he is a part, the call and focus on social justice, community, prayer and service will likely be at the forefront of his leadership as Pontiff.
Let us work together to be bridge builders and community builders. Humble leaders, servant leaders and people who seek dialogue and encounter, but most importantly, peace.
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