Australian Catholics’ hopes are high for a papal visit as they express delight in the election of American-born Robert Prevost as the church’s global leader.
Cardinal Prevost will be known by the name Pope Leo XIV and is the first American and first native English-speaker to be appointed to lead the faith.
Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said he had been impressed during their previous meetings and always thought the Chicago native was a “rough chance” to become Pope.
“But I was surprised when I woke early to the news of his election as Pope Leo XIV – I was also delighted,” he said.
Archbishop Coleridge said despite a rapid rise, Pope Leo wasn’t a man to “rush things” and had an air of calm that would serve him well.
“He struck me as a man who … was hard to fluster, a good driver in heavy traffic … he will be his own man,” he said.
Melbourne Archbishop Peter Andrew Comensoli has met Pope Leo several times, saying he was a “great listener” with “wide experience and great depth of faith”.
“Clearly the cardinals were confident that they chose Cardinal Prevost,” Archbishop Comensoli told AAP.
“We have a chief shepherd and we will all look forward to getting a sense of him, as he begins his ministry.”
Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher said the Chicago native’s “missionary heart” would make him a unifier and peacemaker.
“He’s in a very divided world and the divisions in culture, politics, diplomacy and the rest of the world have infected the church too,” Archbishop Fisher said.
“This Pope is a very centrist kind of Pope and so that might make him less controversial.”
The Sydney archbishop sees no reason why Australia won’t soon have its first sovereign pontiff visit since Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invited Pope Leo to visit Sydney in 2028 for the International Eucharistic Congress.
Archbishop Fisher is confident the pontiff will travel down under after backing Australia’s candidacy to host the event.
“So we’ve got a foot in the door for making sure he comes to our Eucharistic Congress,” the Archbishop said.
Leo spent decades as a missionary in Peru, before Pope Francis appointed him to lead the Vatican’s bishop selection process.
Mr Albanese said the appointment brought joy and hope to Catholics.
“May the papacy of Pope Leo advance the cause of peace and social justice for all humanity,” he said.
Churchgoers in Sydney celebrated the new Pope by attending mass at St Mary’s Cathedral.
“I’m not even Christian … but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these events,” Shantipack Chomsin told AAP.
“It feels like everything is right again and we have something to look forward to, so it’s fantastic news,” Lauren Walker said.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe offered heartfelt congratulations.
“Cardinal Prevost brought to his most recent role as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops an approachability and willingness to listen which were no doubt developed throughout his many years as an Augustinian missionary in Peru,” he said.
Catholic Social Services Australia executive director Jerry Nockles said Pope Leo’s appointment came at a critical time when the world yearned for compassionate leadership grounded in gospel values of justice, dignity and solidarity with the vulnerable.
Cardinal Mykola Bychok was the sole Australian representative at the conclave in Rome.
Archbishop Costelloe and Sale Bishop Greg Bennet have indicated they will travel to Rome for the installation, representing the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and the church in Australia.
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