Father Hathaway’s Statement on the Selection of the New Holy Father

The election of Pope Leo XIV is a blessing to the Church because we now have a successor to Saint Peter after the death of Pope Francis. He is the first American-born Pontiff, but he can be described as a man of the Universal Church.

Although he was born in Chicago in 1955, he served for almost two decades on several different occasions in Peru, as a missionary and also as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. He’s also served as the Prior General of the Order of St. Augustine from 2001 to 2013. In 2023, he was appointed by Pope Francis as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He was also promoted to become an Archbishop and was named a Cardinal by Pope Francis in 2024.

We look forward to finding out why he chose the name – Pope Leo XIV. The last Holy Father to be named Leo was Pope Leo XIII, who is known for his 1891 encyclical called “Rerum Novarum,” which was in reaction to the state of industrial society in the late 19th century and has been a guiding light for Catholic Social Teaching in the years since.

Let us lift prayers for our new Holy Father that he may be receive many graces and blessings from the Lord as he embarks on his ministry of unity, love, and peace. And may Our Lady, whom Pope Leo XIV turned to when he recited a “Hail Mary” after being introduced to the people in Saint Peter’s Square, intercede for him and the entire Church with her motherly love.