Pray the Holy Father may be for us a true shepherd after the Lord’s own heart
By Bishop Mark Beckman
Earlier this month as I was sitting at my desk, the bells of our cathedral church began to chime joyously. Glancing at my watch, I noticed it was shortly after noon and that Mass was occurring—a time when our bells normally do not ring. Instantly, I knew we had a pope!
The first text message had already popped up on my phone—“White smoke has emerged—Habemus Papam—we have a pope!” The Chancery staff gathered in short order to await the arrival of the new Bishop of Rome.
As we watched the excited crowds growing in St. Peter’s Square, our own excitement was building. I called a priest friend who was standing in the square with all of those people, and he said, “Tens of thousands of people from everywhere are flooding into the square!”
Finally, Pope Leo XIV emerged on the balcony: “Peace be with you!” He proclaimed the words of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ to the Apostles in the Upper Room on the night of Easter Sunday, where they had gathered behind locked doors. One could easily see the emotion on the face of our new Holy Father, the 266th successor of the Apostle Peter.
The centuries-old ritual of cardinals gathering in conclave to elect the new pope has captured the attention of the world in these past few weeks. It reminds us of the important spiritual role the pope plays now for people of all faiths and of no faith. It is a tangible human connection to a legacy going back 2,000 years to the first fishermen called by the Lord. And for us Catholics, it is a powerful visible sign of unity in our worldwide Church.
I remember meeting Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost last fall at the New Bishop School I attended in Rome. He struck me as humble, unassuming, and kind.
Memories of previous elections of popes came back to me. St. John XXIII was pope when I was born, and St. Paul VI was elected before I was old enough to understand. But I remember well 1978, the year of three popes: the short reign of the “smiling pope,” John Paul I, and the beginning of the great papacy of St. John Paul II.
Pope John Paul II has truly been called “the Great” and became a global force for good in the Church and the world. When news broke in 2005 of white smoke billowing from St. Peter’s, our parish staff was en route to St. Meinrad Archabbey for a staff retreat.
We heard of the election of Pope Benedict on the radio as we traveled to St. Meinrad. Joyous bells rang from the monastic towers, and the monks sang the Te Deum that evening at Vespers in thanksgiving for a new pope.
When white smoke emerged in 2013, I found myself watching eagerly when Pope Francis appeared. His choice of name, his simple greeting, and request for prayers moved me to tears as I began to pray for him. What a gift he has been for the Church in these past 12 years!
As I look back, it strikes me that each of these popes has brought unique gifts to the Church and the world in their own particular time and place.
Every Good Friday, as we mark the Passion of the Lord, we offer special intercessions for the Church and the world. The second is for the pope, and we pray: “Almighty ever-living God, by whose decree all things are founded, look with favor on our prayers and in your kindness protect the pope chosen for us…” Pope Leo XIV has been “chosen for us” by God, this we believe in faith.
Let us indeed pray for our Holy Father, that he may be for us a true shepherd after the Lord’s own heart. May the light of Christ, to which he bears witness, fill our world with God’s love and grace, this we ask through Christ our Lord!
[Catholic News Service photo/Vatican Media]