Southern African Catholic Bishops Hail Pope Leo XIV’s Election as “historic”, Pledge “unwavering support, prayers”

In his first address as Pope, the 69-year-old American-born member of the Order of St. Augustine 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,” the Holy Father said in his address to those, who gathered in St. Peter’s Square on May 8.

The peace of the Risen Christ, he said, is a “disarming, humble, and persevering peace” that comes from God, a God who “loves us all unconditionally.”

In their May 8 statement, SACBC members weigh in on Pope Leo XIV’s first address, noting that his “message of peace resonates deeply with the SACBC, which recognizes the Pope’s call for all to be peacemakers and bridge builders in a world yearning for reconciliation and unity.”

“SACBC pledges unwavering support and assures Pope Leo XIV of continuous prayers,” they say, and add, “Acknowledging the challenges that lie ahead, the Bishops pray that the Holy Father places his trust in the Lord, who has chosen him and promises to be with him always.”

In the one-page statement that SACBC First Vice President, Archbishop Zolile Peter Mpambani, signed, the Catholic Bishops in Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa pray that God grants Pope Leo XIV “wisdom, courage, and strength to sow the peace he spoke of in his first words as Pope.”

SACBC members also express the hope that Pope Leo XIV’s leadership “will bring about greater unity within the Church, deepen the faith of the people of God, and offer guidance to millions around the globe during these pivotal times.”

They commit to “walking alongside the Holy Father, holding hands in solidarity, to reinforce the spirit of synodality and promote peace in the world.”

“Invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and Saints Peter, Paul, and Augustine, the SACBC prays for Almighty God’s blessings and protection upon Pope Leo XIV,” the Catholic Bishops implore in favour of the newly elected Pontiff, an Augustinian.

Meanwhile, the President of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communication (CEPACS), the committee that represents the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in the communication apostolate of the Church in Africa, has hailed the election of Pope Leo XIV.

“We celebrate the new Pope Leo XIV. Welcome to a Catholic Church that is not afraid of going in a new direction under the guidance of the Holy Spirit by electing an American Pope for the first time, and an Augustinian to walk in the steps of the patriarch and teacher, faithful to the teaching of Jesus Christ,” Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Oyo says in a message shared with ACI Africa on May 8.

Bishop Badejo recognizes the rich historical background of the newly elected Pontiff, saying, “He did not leave the Virgin Mary behind either…Such a healthy mix of America, Peru and the African patriarch. Augustine.”

“God thrives in awesome surprises. And God has more to come, I think…. Alleluia to the victorious Lord!” the Nigerian Catholic Bishop says.

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 studied at the Augustinian Minor Seminary in Michigan and later, in 1977, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

(Story continues below)

He was admitted to the OSA Novitiate in Saint Louis, the Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel of Chicago, in September 1977 and made his First Profession in September 1978. In August 1981, he made his Perpetual Profession.

He was ordained a Priest in June 1982 in Rome, at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica by Archbishop Jean Jadot, then pro-president of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, later the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and currently the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.

The holder of Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago obtained his Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome in 1984.

In 1987, after successfully defending his dissertation on "The Role of the Local Prior in the Order of Saint Augustine", he obtained his Doctorate in Canon Law from the same Rome-based Pontifical University.

While he was working on his doctoral dissertation, he was sent to the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, Piura, Peru (1985–1986).

He was appointed vocation director and missions director of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Olympia Fields, Illinois (USA) before he was again commissioned to Peru, joining the mission in Trujillo as director of the joint formation project for Augustinian candidates from the vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos, and Apurímac.

For some 11 years, he served as Prior of the community (1988–1992), formation director (1988–1998), and instructor for professed members (1992–1998), and in the Archdiocese of Trujillo as judicial vicar (1989–1998) and professor of Canon Law, Patristics, and Moral Theology at the Major Seminary “San Carlos y San Marcelo.”

He also had the pastoral care of Our Lady Mother of the Church, later established as the parish of Saint Rita (1988–1999), in a poor suburb of the city; he was also parish administrator of Our Lady of Monserrat (1992-1999). 

In 1999, he was elected Provincial Prior of the Augustinians of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Chicago. Two and a half years later, the ordinary General Chapter of the Augustinians elected him as Prior General, and reconfirmed him in 2007 for a second term, which ended in 2013.

In October 2013, he returned to OSA Chicago Province, where he served as director of formation at the St. Augustine Convent, first councillor, and Provincial Vicar, until November 2014, when the late Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of Chiclayo Catholic Diocese in Peru, elevating him to the Episcopal dignity and Titular Bishop of Sufar. 

He took up as his episcopal motto, “In Illo uno unum”, words of St. Augustine in a sermon on Psalm 127 explaining that “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.”

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.

In 2023, he spoke to Vatican News about what he considered to be the “portrait of a Bishop.”

“We are often preoccupied with teaching doctrine, the way of living our faith, but we risk forgetting that our first task is to teach what it means to know Jesus Christ and to bear witness to our closeness to the Lord,” he told Vatican News.

“This comes first: to communicate the beauty of the faith, the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus,” he further said, adding, “It means that we ourselves are living it and sharing this experience.”

The late Pope Francis created him a Cardinal in 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.

His predecessor, the late Pope Francis, passed on Easter Monday, April 21. He was laid to rest on April 26 in his “beloved” Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major as he had explained in his testament.

The April 26 burial ceremony was described as a global farewell to a humble shepherd, who was at the helm of the Catholic Church for a little more than 12 years.