Pope Leo XIV is a graduate of Villanova. Here's what Creighton students and faculty say it means for CU.
Pope Leo XIV, history's first American pope, said in his inaugural Mass in St. Peter's Square last Sunday that he prays the Catholic Church becomes a symbol of peace and unity at time both are needed.
He characterized the world of 2025 as being divided "by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth's resources and marginalizes the poorest."
That's part of the message the College of Cardinals heard soon after elevating 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to head of the Catholic Church on May 8.
Cardinal Blase Cupich, an Omaha native and the Archbishop of Chicago since 2014, told The World-Herald that the new pope expressed interest in addressing those issues after being elected. And Cupich said Americans can embrace those ideals.
"He's going to have an altogether new platform given his ability to speak like an American to really address the issues to the day that his predecessor Francis did, but now (Americans) are going to hear it in a different voice and in a language that is very familiar to them because he'll speak like an American," Cupich said. "I think there's a great deal of promise in that regard and so I do think that it's good he's going to have an impact simply because people will hear him in a voice that's familiar."
Born in Chicago and raised in a nearby suburb, Prevost became a friar of the Order of St. Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. His service includes missionary work in the 1980s and 1990s in Peru, where he served as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher and administrator.
As a cardinal, he emphasized engagement with social and technological challenges. He also engaged issues such as climate change, global migration, church governance and human rights.
"He told us the day after (his election) when we met with him that he's going to speak about this, but he gave us a hint by saying that Leo XIII was really the first pope in the modern era," Cupich said.
"(Leo said) that the church needed to address issues that dealt with the everyday lives of people and that's why he wrote (1891 encyclical) Rerum Novarum about the value and the importance of respecting labor.
"He saw an industrial revolution as something that could harm workers if it's not done right, well I think probably (Leo XIV) seized that we're in a similar moment now and have a new era ... with artificial intelligence, but also globalization that we're in a new moment in human history. And so I think he sees himself linked to that effort on behalf of his predecessor, Leo XIII, to address the issues of the day."
Cupich -- who graduated from the now-closed Archbishop Ryan High School in 1967 and began his priesthood in Omaha -- said that he always thought it would be difficult for an American to rise to the head of the Catholic Church, "given the enormous profile that the United States has in the world stage economically military politically."
Leo XIV, he said, seems to be a good fit for the role as a man who we spent 20 years in Peru and 12 in Italy. That background likely helped make his election possible, Cupich said.
America, Cupich said, had a "deep batch" of candidates. Nationality, however, didn't matter in the final analysis.
"Most of us approached all of the process of the conclave by looking at, first of all, defining the qualities of the individual that we need rather than going after a person," Cupich said. "And so it was, it was very helpful the week before for us to gather and talk about what the church needs and what are the qualities of the individual that should be selected. When it came to Cardinal Prevost, he seems to check all the boxes you know.
"They include somebody who is a pastor had actual pastor experience of governing a diocese. Somebody else who appreciated being on the international stage, and he has lived in three different continents."
Cupich, who left Nebraska in 1981 but returned for stints at St. Mary Parish in Bellevue and Omaha's St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, said he began the process of electing a successor to Pope Francis without preconceptions.
Seminarian from Omaha Archdiocese witnesses historic installation of Pope Leo XIV in Rome
A seminarian from the Archdiocese of Omaha said he felt a deep, spiritual connection to 2,000 years of Catholic teaching while attending the inaugural Mass of the first American pope in St. Peter's Square.
"I think that I at least went into the whole process with an open mind, knowing that I didn't want to prejudice my eventual decision ... and so ... for me, it was that deeply spiritual experience rather than one that dealt only with the election of an individual," he said. "I just wanted to remain free internally to listen to the prompting of God in our hearts, and also to listen to others that they talked about the qualities that were needed.
"So it wasn't anything that was rushed or that was pre-arranged, but it just it is slowly developed in a way that everybody seemed to feel comfortable with the decision."
When Leo XIV begins to travel, many think the U.S. will likely be one of his first destinations.
Could Nebraska get a visit?
"You never know," the 76-year-old said. "It depends on what the program is. You know when John Paul II visited Iowa, Des Moines (in 1979), he wanted to do so to speak to the rural community and that was very important. He knew that those who worked the land sometimes are overlooked and he wanted to make a very clear statement with regard to upholding the dignity of their work."
Cupich, who travels to Omaha "from time to time" to see friends and family, said he will be closely watching how the new pope shapes the papacy.
"It's important and I think you're we're gonna see, you know, other developments in due time that will be be significant for for all of us who are you living in this country," he said. "Because this is a man, I think, he's got just a lot of of capacity to do address issues of the day."
Cardinal Robert Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV Vatican Conclave New Pope Robert Prevost childhood home