Bishop Mark will preside at a Diocesan Mass celebrating the election of Holy Father on May 14, 2025, at Noon at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona. All are welcome.
With great joy and thanks to God, I welcome the news of our new Pope Leo XIV. He is now the successor to Saint Peter who was chosen by Christ to be the first to lead the Church.
This announcement comes at a time when the Catholic Church is still observing the Jubilee Year begun by Pope Francis, who called us to be pilgrims of hope.
The pope is a successor to the apostle Peter who was chosen by Christ to be the first leader of the Catholic Church. Before being elected pope by the College of Cardinals, Pope Leo XIV was chosen by Pope Francis to lead the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops.
They had known each other for a number of years because Pope Leo was appointed by Pope Francis as the Bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, South America before he came to work in the Vatican.
This is something unique, since we now have two popes who spent much of their lives ministering to the poor in South America. It seems as though the Holy Spirit is directing all of us to turn our attention to places where the average people may be poor, but their most valuable possession is their Catholic faith.
Pope Francis invited all of us to recapture, or perhaps, for the first time in our lives, to experience the meaning of the theological virtue of hope.
It is the antidote for the cynical views which undermine society. Because these views detract from the God-given dignity that we all share.
All of us are made in the image and likeness of God.
I would expect that Pope Leo XIV will be directing our attention to these fundamental truths where we can be sure of who we are and what we are to do for the good of others.
That’s what it really means to be on a pilgrimage of hope and thanks be to God for giving us Pope Leo XIV to help lead us on the way.
