Habemus Papam! We have a new Pope
Pope Leo XIV while still cardinal, attending the funeral of Pope Francis (Photo by)
AMID great excitement in St Peter's Square in Rome, the white smoke arose just after 6pm Italian time (5pm in Britain and Ireland). After a wait of around one and-a-half hours, as the crowd became ever more animated and the atmosphere more expectant, the curtains parted.
A hush came over St Peter's Square. Vatican City fell silent. French prelate Cardinal Protodeacon Mamberti stepped forward, took the mic, and said: 'Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!' ('I announce to you a great joy: We have a Pope!')
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost had ascended to the throne of St Peter, becoming the 267th Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff.
The 69-year-old Robert Francis Prevost is from Chicago, though he spent many years as a missionary in Peru before being elected head of the Augustinians for two consecutive terms.
He holds both Peruvian and US citizenship.
Born to Louis Marius Prevost, of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martínez, of Spanish descent, in Chicago, Illinois, he has two brothers, Louis Martín and John Joseph.
In Rome, he was ordained a priest on June 19, 1982, at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica by Monsignor Jean Jadot, then Pro-President of the Pontifical Council for Non-Christians, now the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
Prevost obtained his licentiate in 1984; and the following year, while preparing his doctoral thesis, was sent to the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, Piura, Peru (1985–1986). In 1987, he defended his doctoral thesis on "The Role of the Local Prior in the Order of Saint Augustine" and was appointed vocation director and missions director of the Augustinian Province of 'Mother of Good Counsel' in Olympia Fields, Illinois (USA).
On September 26, 2015, he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo by Pope Francis. In March 2018, and in 2023 he was made cardinal.
The soft spoken pope with a long record of missionary work is regarded as a moderate within the Church, but not primarily from the liberal wing. Unlike Francis he opted to wear the traditional papal robes when appearing on the balcony for the first time. This has been interpreted that, from the outset, he will balance reform with stability.
The fact that Pope Leo XIV was elected in a conclave that only lasted two days would indicate that the College of Cardinals was not deeply divided on the choice. Two days is a reasonably quick turnaround for the decision to elect the leader of more than a billion Catholics.
Although we don't know how the voting went, as it was a relatively short conclave we can assume that neither the Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell nor any of the four English-born cardinals emerged at any point as an outside 'compromise' candidate.
Pope Leo XIV is fluent in Spanish and Italian, as well, of course as his mother tongue English — along with several other languages. Today, being fluent in Italian and English is an absolute must for any realistic papal candidate, with Spanish being a desired attribute as well. As one priest from Chile told me in St Peter's Square: 'If you can speak English and Spanish you can speak to half the people in the world. And if you speak Italian as well, you can speak to the whole of the Curia.'
Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin wished Pope Leo XIV "every strength, good health, and the required spiritual guidance as he begins his mission of leading the Catholic Church at a time of challenge, building on the pastoral direction and achievements of Pope Francis".
He added: "On behalf of the government and the people of Ireland, I offer warm congratulations to Cardinal Robert Prevost on his election as Pope Leo XIV.
"The scenes of great joy and celebrations in St. Peter's Square are a reflection of the hopes and goodwill felt by people of the Catholic faith from all around the world towards the new pope.
See More: Bishop Of Rome, New Pope, Vatican
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Agriland
a day ago
- Agriland
Opinion: As Harvest 2025 ends, it's time to plan for the future
Harvest 2025 is fast coming to an end, and the coming weeks will see tillage farmers across Ireland commit to the 2025/26 planting season. Given the success of crops such as winter oilseed rape and winter wheat, there is an expectation that the cropping area may well increase during the year ahead. And, no doubt, the first implement coming out of sheds to help make this happen will be the plough. As Irish tillage looks to the future, one within which the use of herbicides will be strictly limited, it is obvious that ploughing will – once more – become centre stage from a soil cultivation perspective. Consider the facts: herbicide-resistant weeds are gaining a foothold in all our crops. And given current trends, their numbers look set to increase exponentially. Take the threat of blackgrass as a case in point. Over the years, the weed has developed an almost total resistance to selective herbicides. Blackgrass Some of the cereal crops grown in England this year contained up to 400 blackgrass plants per square metre. Infestations of this magnitude can reduce final grain yields by up to 3t/ha. The only way to minimise the impact of the weed on infected farms is through a combination of cultivation techniques and rotational crop changes. From a cultivation point of view, the use of min-till or zero-till systems do nothing at all to help the situation. In fact, they probably facilitate the further growth in blackgrass numbers. Ploughing, on the other hand, acts like a re-set button. By burying blackgrass seeds to depths below which they cannot germinate, genuine control of the weed is achieved. Unfortunately, we here on the island of Ireland are not immune from the blackgrass problem. Herbicide-resistant populations of the weed are fast becoming a challenge for arable farmers on this side of the Irish Sea. And other resistant weeds are also making their presence felt on local farms, including Italian ryegrass, bromes, and canary grass. Many people are happy to decry the plough. They point to the costs involved and the perceived damage to the soil biome caused by ploughing. Neither of these arguments hold up. The reality is that ploughing will consistently add to the yields achieved from all cereal crops. In other words, it will always pay for itself. Moreover, the most recent research indicates that a soil's biome and physical structure will be fully re-constituted six months after ploughing has taken place. So, here's the reality: taking the plough out of Irish agriculture is a bit like trying to play hurling without a sliotar.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Pope celebrates Mass for local homeless people and invites them to lunch
Pope Leo XIV spent the last Sunday of his summer holiday with several dozen homeless and poor people – and the church volunteers who help them, celebrating a special Mass and inviting them into the Vatican's lakeside estate for a lunch of lasagne and roast veal. Leo celebrated Mass in the St Mary sanctuary of Albano, near the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo where he is on holiday. The Mass was attended by around 110 people cared for by the local Caritas church charity, and the volunteers who run the diocese's shelters, clinics and social service offices. In his homily, Leo celebrated the 'fire of charity' that had brought them together. Pope Leo XIV is cheered by faithful as he arrives to celebrate Mass (Gregorio Borgia/AP) 'And I encourage you not to distinguish between those who assist and those who are assisted, between those who seem to give and those who seem to receive, between those who appear poor and those who feel they have something to offer in terms of time, skills, and help,' he said. In the church, he said, everyone is poor and precious, and all share the same dignity. Leo, the former Robert Prevost, spent most of his adult life working with the poor people of Peru, first as an Augustinian missionary and then as bishop. Former parishioners and church workers say he greatly reinforced the work of the local Caritas charity, opening soup kitchens and shelters for migrants and rallying funds to build oxygen plants during the Covid-19 pandemic. Later on Sunday, Leo was to preside over a luncheon with the guests at the Borgo Laudato Si', the Vatican's environmental educational centre in the gardens of the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo. The centre is named for Pope Francis' 2015 landmark environmental encyclical, Laudato Si (Praised Be). According to the Albano diocese, local caterers were providing a menu of lasagne, eggplant parmesan and roast veal. For dessert, the menu called for fruit salad and sweets named for the pope, 'Dolce Leone'.
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- The Irish Sun
At least 26 dead and a dozen missing after boat capsizes near Italian island
Five ships, two aircraft and a helicopter were deployed in the ongoing search for more survivors BOAT HORROR At least 26 dead and a dozen missing after boat capsizes near Italian island AT least 26 people are dead and a dozen missing after a packed migrant boat capsized off Italy's Lampedusa island. Sixty survivors were pulled from the water and taken to a Lampedusa reception centre, with four rushed to hospital, according to the Italian Red Cross and UN agencies. 3 Italian Coast Guard officers and members of the Italian Finance Police carry a body bag on the dock after a migrant shipwreck on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa Credit: Reuters 3 Migrant survivors stand on the dock after Wednesday's shipwreck Credit: Reuters 3 Coffins lie next to a vehicle on the dock after a migrant shipwreck on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa Credit: Reuters The disaster struck early Wednesday when an Italian law enforcement aircraft spotted the overturned vessel and bodies in the water around 14 miles from Lampedusa. Rescue crews are still scouring the waters with five ships, two aircraft and a helicopter in a race against time to find the missing. Officials warn the death toll - currently at 26 - is expected to rise as hopes fade for those unaccounted for. The coastguard said the death toll remains 'provisional and being updated.' Survivor accounts suggest between 92 and 97 people were on board when the boat departed Libya. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the group originally set off on two vessels from the Tripoli area. When one began taking on water, all passengers were crammed into a fibreglass boat which later capsized in international waters due to overloading. 'It is not immediately known how long the migrants had been at sea,' Lampedusa mayor Filippo Mannino said, adding the tragedy happened 'presumably at dawn.' Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who has made tackling illegal immigration a key priority, vowed to keep fighting 'unscrupulous traffickers' by 'preventing irregular departures' and 'managing migration flows.' She said: 'When a tragedy like this occurs, with the deaths of dozens of people in the waters of the Mediterranean, a strong sense of dismay and compassion arises in all of us. Huge wildfires spread across Brit tourist hotspots with hotels evacuated 'by the minute' as holidaymakers flee resorts 'That today's tragedy occurred despite a ready and operational international response warns us that the necessary rescue effort is not sufficient and, above all, does not address the root causes of this tragic problem.' So far this year, 675 migrants have died making the perilous central Mediterranean crossing — not including the latest sinking. In the past decade, almost 24,500 people have died or gone missing on the route, the IOM says. The sinking is the latest in a string of deadly tragedies on the central Mediterranean route, one of the world's most perilous migration corridors. Most boats depart from Libya or Tunisia, often crammed far beyond capacity and with little chance of surviving rough seas. The deadliest shipwreck off Lampedusa happened on October 3 2013, when a boat carrying over 500 migrants from Eritrea, Somalia and Ghana caught fire and capsized, killing at least 368 people. The tragedy prompted international calls for action to address the crisis. The latest sinking comes a day after UK government figures showed more than 50,000 migrants have crossed the Channel from France since Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister. More to follow... For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos. Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun
