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The Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Pope Leo XIV makes first U.S. bishop appointment, fills San Diego vacancy
Pope Leo XIV, history's first American pope, on Thursday made his first American bishop appointment as he named Bishop Michael Pham as bishop of San Diego, California. Pham, 58, is currently an auxiliary bishop in the diocese. He fills the vacancy created when Pope Francis named Cardinal Robert McElroy archbishop of Washington D.C. earlier this year. Pham, who was born in Da Nang, Vietnam, was ordained a priest in the San Diego diocese in 1999 and was made a bishop in 2023. He was in charge of programming for the dioceses' ethnic groups and as of March had been the main diocesan administrator. The diocese of San Diego counts about 1.3 million Catholics in a total population of about 3.5 million people, according to the U.S. Catholic bishops conference. Prior to his election May 8, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost headed the Vatican's bishops office and in that capacity would have reviewed and vetted Pham's file. In another appointment Thursday, Leo named a nun as the No. 2 in the Vatican's congregation for religious orders, a possible sign that he plans to continue Francis' efforts to promote more women to decision-making roles in the Vatican. Sister Tiziana Merletti, the former head of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, is a canon lawyer and now reports to Sister Simona Brambilla, whom Francis in January appointed as the first-ever woman to head a major Holy See office. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Pope Leo XIV makes first U.S. bishop appointment, fills San Diego vacancy
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV, history's first American pope, on Thursday made his first American bishop appointment as he named Bishop Michael Pham as bishop of San Diego, California. Pham, 58, is currently an auxiliary bishop in the diocese. He fills the vacancy created when Pope Francis named Cardinal Robert McElroy archbishop of Washington D.C. earlier this year. Pham, who was born in Da Nang, Vietnam, was ordained a priest in the San Diego diocese in 1999 and was made a bishop in 2023. He was in charge of programming for the dioceses' ethnic groups and as of March had been the main diocesan administrator. The diocese of San Diego counts about 1.3 million Catholics in a total population of about 3.5 million people, according to the U.S. Catholic bishops conference. Prior to his election May 8, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost headed the Vatican's bishops office and in that capacity would have reviewed and vetted Pham's file. In another appointment Thursday, Leo named a nun as the No. 2 in the Vatican's congregation for religious orders, a possible sign that he plans to continue Francis' efforts to promote more women to decision-making roles in the Vatican. Sister Tiziana Merletti, the former head of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, is a canon lawyer and now reports to Sister Simona Brambilla, whom Francis in January appointed as the first-ever woman to head a major Holy See office. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
As 'Born in the U.S.A.' plays, American cardinals in Rome celebrate Pope Leo XIV
Speakers blasted songs including 'Born in the U.S.A.' and ' American Pie' as six cardinal electors from the United States gathered in Rome on Friday to share their thoughts on the election of the first U.S.-born pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost. 'I took a look at Bob and he had his head in his hands and I was praying for him,' said Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the moment right after casting his vote in the Sistine Chapel. 'And then when he accepted, it was like it was made for him.' One day after the Chicago-born Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, the cardinals met on a stage decorated with the Stars and Stripes and a Vatican flag at the Pontifical North American College. The hilltop institution for U.S. seminarians is a short walk from St. Peter's Basilica, where Leo made his first speech to the world on Thursday evening as the new leader of the Catholic Church's 1.4 billion global faithful. The United States had 10 voting cardinals in the conclave, the second-highest number of any country. Four of them currently serve as archbishops in the U.S.: Tobin of Newark, New Jersey; Timothy Dolan of New York; Blase Cupich of Chicago; and Robert McElroy of Washington. 'In a very real sense, Cardinal Prevost has been in his life at his core a real missionary, in every way,' McElroy said. Joining them were retired archbishops Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston in Texas, and Wilton Gregory of Washington, as well as French Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. Several of the men referred to the man they've known for years as Bob or Robert by his papal name, Leo. Others said that his American nationality wasn't a factor — he also holds Peruvian citizenship. Cardinals were most concerned with 'who among us can bring us together, who among us can strengthen the faith and bring the faith to places where it has grown weak,' said Gregory. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
As 'Born in the U.S.A.' plays, American cardinals in Rome celebrate Pope Leo XIV
ROME (AP) — Speakers blasted songs including 'Born in the U.S.A.' and 'American Pie' as six cardinal electors from the United States gathered in Rome on Friday to share their thoughts on the election of the first U.S.-born pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost. 'I took a look at Bob and he had his head in his hands and I was praying for him,' said Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the moment right after casting his vote in the Sistine Chapel. 'And then when he accepted, it was like it was made for him.' One day after the Chicago-born Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, the cardinals met on a stage decorated with the Stars and Stripes and a Vatican flag at the Pontifical North American College. The hilltop institution for U.S. seminarians is a short walk from St. Peter's Basilica, where Leo made his first speech to the world on Thursday evening as the new leader of the Catholic Church's 1.4 billion global faithful. The United States had 10 voting cardinals in the conclave, the second-highest number of any country. Four of them currently serve as archbishops in the U.S.: Tobin of Newark, New Jersey; Timothy Dolan of New York; Blase Cupich of Chicago; and Robert McElroy of Washington. 'In a very real sense, Cardinal Prevost has been in his life at his core a real missionary, in every way,' McElroy said. Joining them were retired archbishops Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston in Texas, and Wilton Gregory of Washington, as well as French Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States. Several of the men referred to the man they've known for years as Bob or Robert by his papal name, Leo. Others said that his American nationality wasn't a factor — he also holds Peruvian citizenship. Cardinals were most concerned with 'who among us can bring us together, who among us can strengthen the faith and bring the faith to places where it has grown weak,' said Gregory. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Reuters
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Cardinals enter seclusion ahead of secret conclave to elect new pope
Summary Catholic cardinals begin living in seclusion at the Vatican Conclave to elect new pope starts Wednesday in Sistine Chapel 'No guess' who will be pope, one cardinal says VATICAN CITY, May 6 (Reuters) - Cardinals who will take part in the secret conclave to elect a new Catholic pope began checking into two Vatican hotels on Tuesday, where they will be barred from contact with the outside world as they decide who should succeed Pope Francis. The conclave will start behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday afternoon, with all cardinals under the age of 80 able to vote on who should be the next leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church. The race to succeed Francis, who died last month, is seen as wide open. Although a few names have been cited as possible front-runners, several of the 133 cardinals expected to vote in the conclave have said they do not know who will become the next pope. "I have no guess," Cardinal Robert McElroy said during a visit to a parish in Rome on Monday evening. The conclave process is "profound and mysterious," said McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, D.C. "I can give you no insights into who is ahead," he said. Some cardinals are looking for a new pope who will continue with Francis' push for a more transparent, welcoming Church, while others are seeking retrenchment to more traditional roots that put a premium on doctrine. Conclaves are often spread out over several days, with multiple votes held before a contender wins the necessary three-quarters majority to become pope. During the conclave period, the voting cardinals will stay in two Vatican guesthouses and take an oath to remain out of contact with anyone not participating in the secret vote. Francis had a priority of appointing cardinals from countries that had never had them before, such as Haiti, South Sudan and Myanmar. This conclave will be the most geographically diverse in the Church's 2,000-year history, with clerics from 70 countries taking part. Japanese Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi told La Repubblica newspaper that many of the 23 cardinals from Asia voting in the conclave planned to vote as a block. He contrasted their strategy with that of the 53 cardinals from Europe, who are known to vote in terms of individual countries or other personal preferences. "We Asians are probably more unanimous in supporting one or two candidates ... we will see which name will come out as the leading candidate," said Kikuchi.
