by Miceál O’Hurley
ROME — I have returned from the Eternal City where the College of Cardinals have surprised the world by electing an American as the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff and Servant of the Servants of God. At 6:07 p.m. Roman time, white puffs of smoke emanated from the Sistine Chapel and the gong of bells St. Peter’s Square filled with what seemed to be people from every corner of the Earth, of all nationalities, languages, cultures and even confessions of faith. It was interesting to hear the cacophony of languages scream out in excitement as the Church’s protodeacon, French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, proclaimed to the city and the world, “Habemus Papam” (We have a Pope).
There was a mix of audible gasps and aplomb as a slightly built, well-tanned figure in the distinctive white Papal robes, zucchetto and stola appeared on the balcony of the Papal apartments overlooking St. Peter’s Square. His name was announced as Leo XIV. But to many, his identity was still uncertain. The face was not immediately recognisable to the hoi polloi, most newscasters and to be blunt not an insignificant number of Catholic pundits who had spent their time during the Novemdiales opining on why such-and-such cardinal was a frontrunner amongst the Papabile.
Robert Francis Prevost, a man elevated to the episcopacy before being created a Cardinal by Pope Francis for his care and advocacy of the marginalised amongst the Peruvians was not amongst the Papabile. That did not keep a bevy of reporters from claiming their “intuition” had led them to believe his election was not only “possible but probable”. We were all entertained by the contortions undertaken by media celebrities who scrambled to be handed a briefing paper explaining who Cardinal Provost was and why his election was notable so they could at least appear to have an insiders view over the election. The truth is thus – the election as Pope of a humble Augustinian friar who laboured amongst the poor in Peru for so long he became a naturalised citizen – having spent more of his life in mission work than he had in his native Chicago – surprised everyone.
Cardinal Prevost had served as the all-important Prefect of the Dicastery of Bishop which identifies priests to be elevated to the episcopacy – a role than ensured he knew almost all of the Catholic prelates personally. This certainly was to his benefit in that many of the Cardinal electors had never met personally given the mandatory retirements since the conclave that elected Pope Francis. Indeed, the College of Cardinals eligible to elect the Pope had grown from representing 48-countries during Pope Francis’ election to and his then expansion of the College to 71-countries being represented in this election. Being known was probably the most beneficial commodity in being electable. But Cardinal Prevost had an almost debilitating detractor for most Cardinal electors – he was an American!
Americans have always been discounted as genuine papabile for reasons of both geography and politics. The election of a mid-Western, “true blue”, average American would be shocking except for the fact that Cardinal Prevost was at this point in his life more inclined to be perceived by those who knew him as an anomaly amongst the American clergy. He had, as one American Bishop joked to me in admiring terms during Pope Francis’ funeral, “gone native”. When then Father Prevost became a naturalised Peruvian citizen it wasn’t just an act of residency or even loyalty to the country in which he had so long laboured as a missionary – it was the telos of his being genuinely united with the Peruvian and South American people, especially those living on the margins of society.
It speaks more to the viewpoint of the reporters than objectivity that Pope Leo XIV is referred to as an American when in truth he is equally a Peruvian citizen.
I suspect the world will quickly come to learn that Pope Leo XIV is not what they would have imagined of this unlikely result of an American-born Pope willd mean for the Catholic Church and the world. Pope Leo’s Pontificate will undoubtedly be informed by his humble piety, quiet nature (he rarely gave interviews) and affability with the lowly and high-born alike. While his Urbi et Orbi praised Pope Francis I believe it would be a mistake to think he will confine his Papacy to being a mere extension of that of his venerable predecessor. He is relatively young and despite his demure nature he is highly energetic. We might be surprised how active this Pontiff will be.
The College of Cardinals not only elected an American but a relatively young man. At 69, and in reportedly exceptional health, Pope Leo can be expected to lead the Church for years to come. This may concern some whose agenda might not have been realised in the election of bastion of conservatism like Raymond Cardinal Burke or his opposite number in the liberal camp, Luis Cardinal Tagle, but it does indicate that the College of Cardinals understood the world expects the Catholic Church to be active, present and engaged with the world and not simply enjoy a caretaker’s turn as Pope. We will see.
And what of my considerable insights gleaned by years of engagement with Roman Curia and Church? I, for one, confess I was stunned and had not imagined for a moment they would ever elect an American Pope in this era. But upon reflection, the election of the then young and equally hungry Missionary I once briefly shared a cup of coffee and roll with in the refectory of the Augustinian General Curia in Rome after missing lunch during a conference led me to conclude he may prove to be the right man, at the right time to be elected the Servant of the Servants of God.
Having shared an cupan caife with a man in 2001 surely doesn’t qualify me to claim I know the man who now wears the Shoes of the Fisherman. But it does allow me to recall how impressed I was with the kind, intelligent, caring and even funny young Augustinian Friar I met all those years ago and resolve that the world has reason to be thankful for his election. His legacy has yet to be written but we have reason for hope he will continue to work for the poor, the disenfranchised, the hungry, the vulnerable, those subjected to the horrors or war and those hoping for peace and the genuine advancement of unity within the Christian faith.
