May 8-9: Pope Leo XIV / El Papa León XIV

On May 8, 2025, the first American Pope was elected to lead the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Leo XIV. Here is a prayer for our new pope:

“Lord, source of eternal life and truth, give to your shepherd a spirit of courage and right judgment, a spirit of knowledge and love. By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care, may he, as successor to the Apostle Peter and vicar of Christ, build your Church into a sacrament of unity, love, and peace for all the world.  Amen.”

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El elegido es el Cardenal Robert Francis Prevost, que gobernará la Iglesia bajo el nombre de León XIV. Una oración por el nuevo Papa:

“Dios eterno y misericordioso, te damos gracias por habernos regalado un nuevo pastor en la persona del Papa León XIV. Tú que conoces su corazón y su historia, acompáñalo con la fuerza de tu Espíritu Santo para que guíe con sabiduría, humildad y valentía a tu Iglesia. Dale salud para afrontar los desafíos de su misión, claridad para discernir tu voluntad, y compasión para abrazar a cada hijo e hija de este mundo, especialmente a los más olvidados y necesitados. Haz que, bajo su guía, seamos constructores de unidad, defensores de la justicia, y testigos de tu amor. Amén.”

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While still a Cardinal, Pope Leo made the news in these kinds of ways:

Speaking of Pope Francis’ “most effective and important” fight against clericalism, he said it was his being “a pastor who preaches by gesture.”

In an interview in 2023 with Vatican News, he spoke about the essential leadership quality of a bishop: “Pope Francis has spoken of four types of closeness: closeness to God, to brother bishops, to priests, and to all God’s people. One must not give in to the temptation to live isolated, separated in a palace, satisfied with a certain social level or a certain level within the Church. And we must not hide behind an idea of authority that no longer makes sense today.” He added, “The authority we have is to serve, to accompany others.”

As president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, where nearly 40 percent of the world’s Catholics reside, he told the Vatican News that bishops have a special mission of promoting the unity of the Church: “The lack of unity is a wound that the Church suffers, a very painful one. Divisions and polemics do not help anything. We bishops especially must accelerate this movement toward unity, toward communion in the Church.”

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Para leer más: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263913/breaking-habemus-papam-white-smoke-rises-from-chimney-of-sistine-chapel