Australian Catholic supremos and political leaders around the world are welcoming the election of American Robert Francis Prevost as the Pope, saying he will emphasise simplicity and community.
Cardinal Prevost will be known by the name Leo XIV and is both the first American, and first native English-speaker to be appointed to the papacy.
He has been described as a thoughtful listener, with a strong focus on peace and bridge-building, by Melbourne Archbishop Peter Andrew Comensoli.
Archbishop Comensoli, who has met Pope Leo several times in person, told AAP that he was a “great listener”.
He says it’s wonderful to have a new pope with “wide experience and great depth of faith”.
“Clearly the cardinals were confident that they chose Cardinal Prevost,” Archbishop Comensoli told AAP.
“It’s great news. We have a chief shepherd and we will all look forward to getting a sense of him, as he begins his ministry as the successor to Peter.”
“Peace be with all you,” Pope Leo XIV has said from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher said the Chicago-native’s “missionary heart” would hold him in good stead.
“Like the late Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV will bring to the church the experience of being part of a religious order with an emphasis on simplicity and community,” he said.
“It was very moving that the Holy Father opened his first address to a watching world with a greeting of peace, and repeated the central truth of the gospel, that God loves all of us ‘without any limits or conditions’.”
Pope Leo spent decades as a missionary in Peru, before Pope Francis appointed him to lead the Vatican’s bishop selection process.
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has welcomed the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the Pope, now known as Pope Leo XIV.
Source: @ACBC1https://t.co/yJujmfQ3yx
— CathNews (@CathNews) May 9, 2025
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 in his new role.
“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.
Albanese said the appointment brought joy and hope to Catholics everywhere.
“May the papacy of Pope Leo advance the cause of peace and social justice for all humanity,” he said.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe offered the Catholic church in Australia’s 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,” Archbishop Costelloe 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.
“At a time when Australia and indeed the world faces unprecedented social challenges – from growing inequality to escalating violence and social division – Pope Leo’s election offers a beacon of hope and a powerful reminder that the church stands firmly for peace and with those on the margins,” Nockles said.
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.
International reaction
Political leaders across the globe have also welcomed the election of Pope Leo XIV, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying it would begin “a new chapter for the leadership of the Church and in the world”.
“Pope Leo is the first American Pope,” Starmer said. “This is a momentous moment. As Pope Francis’ papacy showed, the Holy See has a special role to play in bringing people and nations together to address the major issues of our time; especially on climate change, alleviating poverty and promoting peace and justice across the world.”
Us President Donald Trump, who last week posted an AI-generated photo showing himself as the Pope ahead of the Conclave beginning, said of the election: “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italians would look to Pope Leo XIV “as a guide and point of reference”, while Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his “heartfelt congratulations”.
“I am confident that the constructive dialogue and cooperation established between Russia and the Vatican will continue to develop on the basis of the Christian values that unite us,” Putin said said in a telegram published on the Kremlin website.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro noted that the new Pope was “more than just an American”.
“His immediate ancestors are Latin: Spanish and French, and he lived 40 years in our Latin America, in Peru,” Petro said.
“I hope he becomes a great leader for migrants around the world, and I hope that he lifts up our Latino migrant brothers and sisters who are currently being humiliated by the US It’s time for them to organise.
“May he help us build the great force of humanity that defends life, and defeat the greed that has caused the climate crisis and the extinction of living things.”
– with Reuters
