Cincinnati Catholics greeted the selection of the first American pope Thursday with shock, joy and anticipation about what the choice might mean for the future of the church in the United States and beyond.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who will go by the name Leo XIV, emerged as the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics after several rounds of voting by 133 Catholic cardinals in Rome. Though considered a contender, the choice of the 69-year-old Chicago native stunned many.
Cincinnati Archbishop Robert Casey, also born and raised in Chicago, saw the selection as “a unifying moment in the life of the Church.”
“With great joy and gratitude, I join the people of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in praying for our new Holy Father,” Casey said in a statement. “May the Lord grant him wisdom, courage, and strength in carrying out his sacred ministry.”
Ken Craycraft, a professor of moral theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati, said Prevost’s choice of the name Leo XIV is a symbolic move that suggests the focus of his papacy will be on “Catholic social doctrine,” a century-old doctrine that seeks to apply Catholic teachings to modern economic and political problems.
He said the new pope’s name appears to be inspired by Pope Leo XIII, who in the 1890s became the first pope to advocate Catholic social doctrine as a guide for the church during the political and social turmoil of the industrial revolution. The doctrine teaches that the “dignity of the person,” regardless of wealth or status, is of great importance.
Craycraft said the cardinals may have seen conditions in the world today as similar as those at the end of the 19th Century, which may, in turn, have led them to Prevost.
“I think the cardinals saw he is the man for the moment,” said Craycraft, author of “Citizens Yet Strangers,” a book about how Catholics can live their faith in politically divided times. “The name is not accidental. The name is very symbolic.”
Craycraft said the significance of an American pope can’t be understated.
“To speak Catholicism with an American accent is somewhat affirming for we American Catholics,” Craycraft said. “With one of our own as head of the church, it gives more of a sense of connectedness to the worldwide church than we’ve had.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine praised Prevost’s work in poor communities throughout his priesthood as a member of the Augustinian order. The new pope left Chicago as a young man and lived for years in Peru before taking a position at the Vatican under his predecessor, Pope Francis.
“Through his work as a teacher and missionary, he has been committed to spreading the Gospel by helping the poor, migrants, and the least among us,” said DeWine, a Catholic. “His background as a parish priest and as a missionary tells us that he will be a Pope who will work hard to stay in touch with people of all backgrounds around the world.”
Craycraft agreed Pope Leo XIV’s history of working among the poor is appealing, and likely also appealed to the cardinals who chose him as the new leader of the church. He said he expects that work to continue in the years to come, but on a larger scale.
“I think he’ll be a globe trotter,” Craycraft said. “I think he wants to be a voice of peace, of economic reform, of economic justice. And I think he’s going to take that message to the world.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: First American pope: Cincinnati Catholics greet Leo XIV as ‘man of the moment’
Reporting by Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
