Christ the Cornerstone

Our new pope is a gift of the Holy Spirit

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you (Jn 14:26).

Just two weeks ago, the whole world witnessed the working of the Holy Spirit. When the white smoke emerged from the papal conclave on May 8, it was a sign that the 133 cardinals had reached the required two-thirds’ consensus on the 266th successor of St. Peter.

As the Cardinal Electors affirmed, it was the Holy Spirit who inspired their discussions in the pre-conclave congregations. And it was the Divine Advocate who guided them in balloting once they were sequestered in the Sistine Chapel for what turned out to be a relatively brief conclave.

The Holy Spirit’s choice for St. Peter’s successor was a surprise. Worldly wisdom dictated that the new pope would not be from the United States of America. Many commentators speculated that the new pope would be African or Asian. Others debated whether he would be a progressive or a traditionalist. The Holy Spirit chose a both/and papal candidate, a bridge-builder who would accept the daunting challenge of unity in Christ expressed in his papal motto, “In illo uno unum” (“In the One Christ we are one”).

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost (now Pope Leo XIV) did not campaign for his office as the Vicar of Christ. Nor was his election simply the result of the Cardinals’ efforts to find “the best man for the job.”

The new pope was a gift to the Church and the world by the Holy Spirit working in and through the Cardinal Electors. This is the same Spirit that the Risen Christ promised his Father would send in his name to teach his disciples everything and to remind them of all he told them during his brief time on Earth (Jn 14:26).

In the Gospel for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Jn 14: 23-29), Jesus says:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, “I am going away and I will come back to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. (Jn 14:27-29)

“Peace be with you,” were the first words spoken by Pope Leo XIV when he was introduced to us as our new pope. Those same words were spoken by the Risen Jesus when he first appeared to his disciples, and the peace that our new Holy Father wishes for us can only come from Christ. He gives us peace not as the world gives it—tentative and conditional—but as a permanent and irrevocable covenant between our merciful God and his people.

As the Vicar of Christ, Pope Leo is charged with the sacred responsibility to comfort, challenge and instruct us as faithful followers of Jesus. The way that he can accomplish this awesome task is not by trusting his own gifts and talents (as considerable as they are) but by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit who is actively at work in the world.

Every time we recite the Nicene Creed, we say, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.”

The Holy Spirit was instrumental in the birth of the Church as the Body of Christ, and it was the same Spirit who breathed life into St. Peter and the first Apostles, empowering them as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ called to proclaim his Gospel to the ends of the Earth.

Without the Holy Spirit, the mission of St. Peter’s successor would be impossibly complex and difficult. It would require the political posturing of secular leadership, and its accomplishments would be, at best, the result of human wisdom. In the Creed, we profess that the Holy Spirit is “the giver of life.” We Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit is also the giver of many spiritual gifts, including love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, modesty, prudence, courage and wisdom.

Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will bless Pope Leo XIV with all these gifts as he carries out his mission of bridge-building and peacemaking in our Church and in the world. And may the Spirit of God guide him in all aspects of his Petrine ministry. †