Celebrating Pope Leo XIV

Biography 

Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 14 September 1955. As a member of the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.), in which he held various leadership positions, he dedicated many years of service to the Augustinian missions in Peru as a priest and seminary professor. He was eventually appointed Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, by Pope Francis. As a Bishop of the Church in Peru, he served as Vice President and member of the Permanent Council of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him as Prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops and elevated him to the College of Cardinals. Pope Leo XIV holds a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

Commenting on this historic moment, the President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Most Rev. William T. McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary, asks the faithful to embrace the new Pope: “I encourage the faithful in Canada to unite with their local Ordinary in welcoming Pope Leo XIV as our new Holy Father, and to remember him daily in their prayers so that he may embark on his Petrine ministry with fidelity, confident that the Lord will help him.”

As the Church in Canada rejoices today with Christians throughout the world, let us remember our new Holy Father in prayer, that despite the considerable weight of his role and responsibilities, his yoke may be easy and his burden light (cf. Matthew 11:28-20).

May God grant strength and wisdom to our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV, and may Mary, Mother of the Church, be ever at his side, guarding him with her mantle of protection.

~ Source: CCCB Welcomes Pope Leo XIV with Rejoicing & Prayers

Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful,
look favourably on your servant Leo XVI,
whom you have set at the head of your
Church as her shepherd;
grant, we pray, that by word and example
he may be of service to those over whom
he presides
so that, together with the flock entrusted
to his care,
he may come to everlasting life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity
of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Prayer for the Pope

To read Pope Leo XIV first blessing, click here

Click here for the latest “faithfully” for Pope Leo XIV