CONCLAVE: “Habemus PAPAM!”, Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo the XIV waves from the Balcony of St. Peter’s Square

The image of a smiling American Cleric, full of emotion, blinking back tears on the Balcony of St Peter’s Square, is an image I shall not soon forget. Kind-faced, the Holy Father, a humble man, a familiar face, resembling that of Pope Saint John Paul II!

Change is the first constant, and a necessary step towards transformation. Therefore, as a People and the Church of Christ Jesus, we were tasked to elect a Successor of St. Peter, and in deed, the Successor to the Late Pope Francis through the College of Cardinals in order to end the Vacancy of the Holy See.

The Conclave 2025 began in the afternoon of 7^th May, 2025 with the closure of the doors of the Sistine Chapel, and ended on the 8^th of May. An inconclusive result was marked by the release of the black smoke on Wednesday, the 7^th of May, but the billowing white smoke through the chimneys of the Sistine Chapel on the 8^th of May signified that we finally had a successor. And officially, the Vacancy of the Holy See, otherwise known as the Papal Interregnum was officially ended.

Taking on the name; Pope Leo XIV, Leo the XIV becomes the first North American Pope to be elected in the history of the Church. Born Robert Francis Prevost, on Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago to a French and Italian Father, and a Spanish Mother (therefore born to Migrants), and the last of three brothers. His Father Louis Marius Prevost was World War II Navy Veteran and school superintendent, whilst his Mother was a Librarian who was very involved in Parish life. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the Villanova University before pursuing his religious vocation. He is of the Augustinian Order, has a Master of Divinity degree and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Acquinas in Rome. He has served extensively in Peru. Pope Francis made him Bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru in 2015, receiving his episcopal consecration in December 2014. While serving in Peru, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Dicastery for the Clergy in 2019, a member of the Dicastery of Bishops in 2020, and the Prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops in 2023. On September 30 2023, he was made a Cardinal by Pope Francis, and of course now he is our Pope-Elect.

Before the election of Leo the XIV,  Vatican secretary of State since 2013; Cardinal Pietro Parolin of Italy, Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea (an outspoken critic of Pope Francis), Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Italy (One of Pope Francis’ trusted Cardinals),  Luis Antonio Tagle from the Phillippines, Super Conservative Cardinal Peter Erdo of Hungary, PierBattista Pizzaballa of Italy, and of course Peter Cardinal Turkson of Ghana (a Progressive Thinker and Leader) were considered as some of the “papabile” or pope material and indeed papal frontrunners for filling the Vacancy of the Papacy.

But as the saying goes, “you enter the Conclave as a Pope, you leave as a Cardinal.” As a Church, we are in awe of the goodness of God, who alone does what is good. The new Pope is our collective Gift from God. He may not be everyone’s choice, but he is God’s Choice for His people through the direction of His Holy Spirit to meet the present needs of the world. Viva il papa!