Pope Leo XIV’s Election in 24 Hours Reflection of Consensus on “man the Church needs”: Catholic Bishop in Mauritius

Port Louis, 09 May, 2025 / 8:25 PM

The Thursday, May 8 election of Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost as the 267th Pontiff on the second day of the 2025 Conclave is a demonstration that the Cardinal Electors had no difficulty in agreeing on the candidate the Catholic Church currently needs, Bishop Jean Michaël Durhône of the Catholic Diocese of Port-Louis in Mauritius has said. 

In a statement shared with ACI Africa shortly after Pope Leo XIV’s election was made public, Bishop Durhône welcomes the new Pontiff “in faith and hope.”

“His election, within 24 hours, was swift and reflects a consensus among the Cardinals who voted. It is a sign that he is the man the Church needs,” he says.

The Mauritian Catholic Church leader notes that “at every moment in her history, the Church has had the Pope she needed.”

On May 8 at at 6:09 p.m. Rome time, white smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signalling that the Cardinal Electors had elected the successor of St. Peter to take over from the late Pope Francis, who passed on Easter Monday, April 21 and was laid to rest on April 26 in his “beloved” Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major as he had explained in his testament.

Thousands of people, who had gathered in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers as the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica began to toll, confirming the election of a new pontiff. 

The new pontiff appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at approximately 7:25 p.m. Rome time, where the Protodeacon of the College of Cardinals and Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, Dominique Cardinal Mamberti, announced in Latin: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!” (“I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope!”).

Before he appeared on the balcony, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV had spent time in the “Room of Tears,” a small chamber adjacent to the Sistine Chapel. This traditionally named room is where new pontiffs first don the Papal vestments and have a moment of private prayer and reflection as they absorb the magnitude of their election to the Chair of St. Peter.

Following the announcement, Pope Leo XIV addressed the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square and those watching around the world, offering his first blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) as the new Roman pontiff.

In his first address as Pope, the 69-year-old American-born member of the Order of St. Augustine (OSA) asked the people of God to help the Church build bridges through dialogue and encounter, working for unity and peace.

“Peace be with you all. Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd, who has given his life for God’s flock. I too would like that this greeting of peace enters into your heart, reaching your families, and all people, wherever they are, to all peoples, to all the earth. Peace be with you,” Pope Leo XIV said in his maiden May 8 Papal address.

In his May 8 message, Bishop Durhône reflects on the name of the new Pontiff, saying, “This new Pope has chosen to follow in the footsteps of Leo XIII, who brought social teaching during the great industrial revolution of the late 19th century.”

Pope Leo XIV, the Mauritian Catholic Bishop goes on to note, “was also a missionary in Peru for 20 years. This reveals a man with a heart sensitive to the poor. I sense in him a man of peace, a man at peace.”

Bishop Durhône implores, “Let us pray that he may have the courage and boldness to lead the People of God and to contribute to peace and interreligious dialogue. Let us entrust him to the Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Church.”

The newly elected Pontiff was born on 14 September 1955 in Chicago, USA to Louis Marius Prevost of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martínez of Spanish descent; he has two brothers, Louis Martín and John Joseph.

He took his First Vows in the OSA in September 1978 and had his Perpetual Profession in August 1981. He was ordained a Priest in June 1982 in Rome.

He served as Prior General of the OSA for two six-year consecutive terms, which ended in 2013. In November 2014, the late Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of Chiclayo Catholic Diocese in Peru, where he had been a missionary, elevating him to the Episcopal dignity and Titular Bishop of Sufar. 

While serving in Peru, the late Pope Francis made him a member of the Dicastery for the Clergy in 2019 and then a member of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2020.

In 2023, the late Pope Francis made him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. In that capacity, he played a key role in the selection process for Local Ordinaries around the world and in the investigation of allegations against Bishops.

The late Pope Francis created him a Cardinal during the September 2023 Consistory. The following month, he was appointed a member of multiple Dicasteries, including for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches), for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the Eastern Churches, for the Clergy, for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for Culture and Education, for Legislative Texts, and for the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State.

On February 6, the late Pope Francis promoted him to the Order of Bishops, granting him the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano. On March 3, when the late Pope Francis was admitted at Gemelli hospital, he presided over the Rosary for his predecessor’s health in Saint Peter’s Square.