Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

About Pope Leo XIV

I’m writing this post days after Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected Pope. He chose the name of Pope Leo XIV. As we all saw by all the heads of state and royal families who attended Pope Francis’ funeral and all the global attention awaiting the white smoke indicating a cardinal had been chosen as Pope, the Pope has an influence that extends far beyond the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world. 

 In a world guided by greed, power, and hunger for ever-increasing wealth, the Pope offers a powerful voice, guided by the desire to live the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Pope is not only the head of the Vatican state but also the visible leader of the Catholic Church, the successor of Peter, and the Vicar of Christ on earth.

The Holy Spirit guided the cardinals in selecting the right person for our times. He is humble, calm, and reserved. He possesses a great intellect, has lived the missionary life serving people in a developing country for many years, led a global Catholic religious order, and worked at the Vatican. As a centrist, he will likely offer a precise and traditional defense on matters of faith and morality. He is also expected to be passionate about social justice, the protection of workers, and the love and protection of migrants and refugees. He is likely also to do what he can to protect the environment. 

The Pope's Mission

His mission is to lead and unite the Catholic Church, proclaim the Gospel, offer guidance on faith and morality, and promote unity and reconciliation among Catholics and other faith communities. He carefully guards the Church's deposit of faith. He usually also works hard to foster peace among nations and serve the poor and those suffering.

Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

Join me in prayer for Pope Leo XIV, our Church's new leader. May God bless and strengthen him, and may the Church experience worldwide renewal under his guidance.

O God, who in your providential design
willed that your Church be built upon blessed Peter,
whom you set over the other Apostles,
look with favor, we pray, on Leo our Pope
and grant that he,
whom you have made Peter’s successor,
may be for your people
a visible source and foundation
of unity in faith and of communion.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 
who lives and reigns with you 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
God, forever and ever. Amen

Collect of the Mass for the Pope
The Roman Missal, Third Edition