‘Very surprised’: What DC-area clergymen have to say about the new pope

Two days into the conclave Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the new head of the Catholic Church choosing the papal name Leo XIV Related stories Leo XIV s brother recalls feeling of disbelief over his sibling becoming pope Robert Prevost first pope from US in history of the Catholic Church takes the name Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV brings hope to Chicago sports fans and the Knicks for their Villanova ties It is the first time in the -year history of the Catholic Church that the pope is from the United States Prevost was born in Chicago and raised in a nearby Illinois suburb He joined the Order of St Augustine in and spent the greater part of his career ministering in Peru Baltimore Archbishop William Lori was very surprised by the conclave s decision but was rapidly moved from being surprised to being delighted He explained WTOP he s met Leo on several occasions and called him a man of deep intelligence and a good listener Leo was appointed by the late Pope Francis as the prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops which oversees the selection of bulk new bishops and requires papal approval He was very widely known I think multiple of the cardinals there just knew him to be a good prayerful humble man that has what it takes to take to lead the church Lori reported Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington stated WTOP he had a similar reaction as Lori I would say surprised but overjoyed in knowing that our country is through the grace of God giving the universal church and the world a holy a faithful intelligent approachable shepherd So lots of happiness from around the diocese and our communities he stated Burbidge stated Leo s vast experience from traveling around the world likely played a part in his selection as pope One thing about our new Holy Father is he was born and raised in Chicago and is an Augustinian and also has a world experience spending so much time in Peru and in recent days in Rome itself head of a major congregation Burbidge disclosed He s someone known for his experience from around the world as a true missionary and so he is now the Holy Father for our universal church Leo explained in his debut remarks that he hopes to build bridges between the West and the Vatican Help us too and help each other to build bridges with dialogue with meetings uniting us all to be one people invariably in peace You can tell a lot from initial words Burbidge declared I really see what was so critical to Pope Francis that of unity reconciling the world helping us to live in peace together as God s family will be a major focus of our new Holy Father I think he will be urging all the churches all of the dioceses of the world to really double down on our mission of evangelization to be zealous and joyful for proponents and protagonists of the gospel Lori stated I think that s where he s going to lead us Source