Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Habemus Papam! We have a new Pope! What great news! This past week, we mourned as God called Pope Francis back to heaven, but now God has sent us another new Pope! He is the first Pope from the United States and the first Augustinian Pope. This joy is not merely of the heart or of having a new Pope within the structure of the Church; rather, it is a spiritual, even theological, joy. Every Pope is Christโs vicar on earthโthe Father of the Catholic Church, the Father of fathers, and the Servant of all servants.
All of us Catholics share this human and transcendent joy, which is why we pray especially for the Pope every day at Mass, in the Prayers of the Faithful, and in the Rosary. The Pope is the successor of the Apostle Peter, and the new Pope emphasized this succession, recalling how the late Pope Francis went out to the crowd in the square during his last days to bring the peace of the Risen Lord to all people. The new Pope said: โAllow me to extend the same blessing of Pope Francis.โ Pope Leo XIV also reflected on how Pope Francis built bridges to welcome all people, as Christ did, and fulfilled this bridge-building mission through dialogue and love.
Pope Leo XIV has always lived out his missionary vocation. Born in the United States and having served in South America for most of his priestly life, he also referred to his role as a missionary of the Augustinian Order, quoting the words of St. Augustine: โTo you I am a bishop, but with you I am a Christian.โ He wished for everyone to have true peace in Christ. In choosing the name Leo XIV, he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Pope Leo XIII, who, over a hundred years ago, confronted a variety of social challenges and wrote his Encyclical Rerum Novarum to address them, bringing about social justice and peace. The new Pope wishes to bring us the love, joy, justice, and peace of Christ. Let us follow Pope Leo XIV with all our hearts and minds in fulfilling our evangelical mission!
May we all share and convey the joy of Habemus Papam!
๏ผBishop Stephen Lee Bun Sang
Catholic Diocese of Macau
9th May 2025
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