Ten days after his May 8 election, Pope Leo XIV will be installed as the 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The inauguration of his Petrine ministry will take place during a Mass at 10 a.m. (Rome time) May 18 in St. Peter’s Square, Rome, according to information released by Vatican News. Thousands are expected to be there in person, with potentially millions more watching around the world.
As the celebration approaches, Catholics locally and beyond continue their quest to learn more about the 69-year-old pontiff, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. He is a friar in the Order of St. Augustine who was born in Chicago, Illinois and spent much of his priestly life as a missionary and later a bishop in Peru before Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He also was elevated to archbishop and then cardinal.
Three diocesan priests who are studying in Rome experienced the death and funeral of Pope Francis, the conclave, election and introduction of Pope Leo XIV. Father Martin Dober and Father Kevin Klonowski offered their thoughts previously. Father Tim Roth, who is concluding his studies this spring and will be returning to the diocese, shares his thoughts below. He has been studying canon law since fall 2019 at the Pontifical University of Thomas Aquinas, also known as the Angelicum.
“Once I heard about the smoke and heard the bells ringing, I made my way down to the square, which was total chaos. I’ve never seen anything like it — the streets were flooded with people coming from every direction converging on St. Peter’s Square,” Father Roth said. “By the time I arrived, the square was totally packed and I was so far back that I could not see anything. I was with a friend and we called an audible, opting instead to head to the tower at the North American College which overlooks the basilica. I have been to the square multiple times over my years in Rome and am quite familiar with that experience, but this alternative offered a completely different perspective of the event, which for me contributed to the uniqueness and unforgettable nature of that historic moment.”
Father Roth said a few other seminarians and faculty were also on the tower to enjoy the view, including Father Terry Hogan, the North American director of the Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican Museums, a group dedicated to preserving the artistic and historical treasures of the Vatican.
“It was nice to celebrate with them, as well,” he said.
“After all the perceptible anxiety of the conclave and the frenetic energy in the city, there was an immediate sense of peace, joy, excitement and gratitude after hearing the name of the new successor of St. Peter, watching him step out onto the loggia, and listening to his first message to the world,” Father Roth said.
“I was very surprised that the cardinals elected a new pope so soon, as I anticipated the conclave going into at least Friday (May 9), but utterly stunned (as I’m sure the whole world was) to find out that we would have our first-ever North American pontiff, that he would be from Chicago, that he would be on the younger side of the potential candidates indicating a longer papacy, and that he would choose the name Leo XIV. I do not know much about Robert Francis Prevost, but I felt a certain sense of affinity to him after learning that he also studied canon law at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum),” he added.
Father Roth said this sense of closeness continues to grow as he learns more about the new pope and hears more from him.
“I am struck by his papal motto, In Illo uno unum (In the One, one or In the one Christ, we are one). It was taken from St. Augustine’s sermon on Psalm 127, which in its broader context expresses the concept that although we Christians are many and varied, we are united through faith in Christ,” Father Roth said.
He noted in the new pontiff’s first homily, “He emphasized the need for bold witnesses to the faith in responding to the challenges of the world, stating that the Church’s missionary outreach is ‘most desperately needed’ where Christians are ‘mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied.’”
Father Roth said Pope Leo also spoke of the “indispensable commitment” expected of those who “exercise the ministry of authority” in the Church to — in the example of St. Ignatius of Antioch —“move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified, to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.”
“I am impressed by what I have observed so far, I have much hope and confidence in his leadership, and I am very excited to see what the Lord has in store. It has been an unforgettable week that has renewed my faith, and I remain grateful to God for the ways in which he continues to work through his Church and provide for his people,” Father Roth added.
He said he is looking forward to returning home and resuming his work in the Diocesan Tribunal this summer.
Meanwhile, at St. Francis de Sales School in Akron, school staff shared students’ reaction to the news of a new pope.
They said the nearly 200 students in grades pre-K to eight stopped what they were doing in order to watch the historical events unfold as the new pontiff was introduced. They tuned in on screens in their classrooms as soon as the white smoke was seen and watched until Pope Leo XIV addressed the crowd from the balcony.
“They were so excited. You could hear screams from all over the building,” one staff member said. When they learned he was an American, they were overjoyed. She said the students had been praying for the repose of Pope Francis’ soul as well as the conclave. They also learned about the process by which the pope was elected.
“It was so awesome,” she added.
Click here to learn more about Pope Leo XIV and to review other papal resources offered on the diocesan website.
Rome photos provided by Father Tim Roth include Cleveland priests (and others) at Pope Francis’ funeral Mass and Cleveland priests Father Kevin Klonowski, Father Martin Dober and Father Tim Roth with Philadelphia Archbishop (and former Cleveland Bishop) Nelson Perez during his recent visit to Rome.