Bishop Kettler pleased with Pope Leo XIV's first message
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – For the first time in the history of the Catholic Church, an American has been elected as the new Pope. Born in Chicago, Robert Prevost spent his career ministering in Peru and later led the Vatican's Office of Bishops. He has chosen the name Pope Leo XIV.
Following the announcement of the new Pope, Bishop Donald Kettler, the temporary administrator of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, sat down with reporters in Saint Joseph's Cathedral.
Dell Rapids St. Mary's students react to Pope Leo XIV
Kettler says he was pleased with the first message Pope Leo XIV gave to the world.
'Loving people, caring for the people, being aware of and thinking about and working for everybody,' Kettler said. 'A sense of unity. Those are the kinds of things that I hoped he would talk about.'
Pope Leo XIV is the first in papal history to be born in the United States, but Kettler hopes that fact and his new role can be seen as separate things.
'Being American, people are going to be thinking about that and is that going to change how the country acts with the Church or with the people,' Kettler said. 'I'm trying to really think that his appointment should be really seen separate from that and that he is the Pope for the whole world and not particularly for the United States. That's what I would hope for.'
As for how Pope Leo XIV chose his name, Bishop Kettler says we won't know that reason until he chooses to tell us. However, Kettler wonders if it's in homage to Pope Leo XIII.
'He taught us about social justice — maybe he was the best Holy Father we had to talk about some of those things,' Kettler said. 'And so I'm wondering if because of that, that was one of the reasonings why he picked Leo XIV.'
Catholics number more than 140,000 in SD
Of course, time will tell the direction this new pontiff will take the Catholic Church.
'But always keeping in mind, one of the tasks of the Holy Father is to bring unity — not only to the people of the Church, Christians, Catholics, but also to bring some better unity to everybody else in the world in a world that's polarized a lot,' Kettler said. 'And so this is an opportunity, I think, to see that some of that might happen and I'm so pleased about that.'
Kettler is currently leading the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls while Bishop Donald DeGrood undergoes treatment for health concerns. Kettler is a retired Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Cloud.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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