Catholic leaders urge Pope Leo to visit Australia for first time in over a decade
The hopes of the nation's Catholics are high for a papal visit after American-born Robert Prevost was chosen as the church's global leader.
Cardinal Prevost will be known by the name Pope Leo XIV and is the first American and first native English-speaker to be appointed to lead the faith.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invited Pope Leo to visit Sydney in 2028 for the International Eucharistic Congress - an event set to attract tens of thousands of Catholics from all over the world.
It would be the first sovereign pontiff visit since Pope Benedict XVI came to Sydney for World Youth Day in 2008.
Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said he hoped the pontiff would also travel west.
'I would love Pope Leo to come here,' Archbishop Costelloe told reporters in Perth.
'He's been invited both by the church and therefore also by the government for (the Eucharistic Congress) ... so if he comes, he'll certainly go to Sydney.
'But if I get to speak to him between now and then, I'll certainly be inviting him to come to Western Australia.'
The archbishop said it was still unclear where the former missionary stood on various issues but described him as attentive and a deep listener.
Earlier, Albanese said the appointment brought joy and hope to Catholics.
'May the papacy of Pope Leo advance the cause of peace and social justice for all humanity,' the prime minister said.
Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher said the Chicago native's 'missionary heart' would make him a unifier and peacemaker.
'He's in a very divided world and the divisions in culture, politics, diplomacy and the rest of the world have infected the church too,' Archbishop Fisher said.
Cardinal Mykola Bychok was the sole Australian representative at the conclave in Rome.
Archbishop Costelloe and Sale Bishop Greg Bennet have indicated they will travel to Rome for the installation, representing the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and the church in Australia.
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