09/05/2025
ELECTION OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
STATEMENT OF ARCHBISHOP DERMOT FARRELL, ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN:
Today with joy I offer my prayerful good wishes to Pope Leo XIV who has been elected as Bishop of Rome and the 267th successor of St Peter. Pope Leo brings a wealth of experience to his new role as the first pastor of the Catholic Church. His experience, together with his personal humility, prayerfulness, discretion, and balanced judgement are qualities that, in the working of the Holy Spirit, perhaps permitted the light, promise, and faithfulness of Christ to illumine, inspire and empower the cardinal electors during the conclave, one which was so important for the Church and the world in this unsettled and difficult time. Now as Pope Leo XIV he is the first shepherd of the Lord’s flock, who will represent the unity of our faith and its diversity, as together, the People of God, faithful to our mandate, may be, in Christ, a leaven of renewal within the whole human family.
Robert Prevost joined the Augustinian Order in 1977. He referenced his story of faith when he spoke in St Peter’s Square: “I am a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian,” citing Saint Augustine’s foundational statement of his identity as a person of faith, and of his understanding of his ministry “With you I am a Christian, for you a bishop.” ‘With you’— mirroring Christ who is “God with us.” (Matthew 1:24). ‘For you” — putting flesh on the One Shepherd (John 10:16) who gave his life for his sheep. We remember the total dedication of Pope Francis to his flock.
Pope Leo’s early ministry took him to northern Peru, where he served as a Parish Priest, taught in a seminary, and acted as a canon law advisor. His leadership journey brought him from the Augustinian Province of Chicago to his appointment as Prior General of an Order that serves the mission of the Church in more than fifty countries. Nominated by Pope Francis, he served as a bishop of Chiclayo in Peru from 2014 until 2023, when he was called to be Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and created a Cardinal. He has both pastoral experience in the peripheries of the Church, combined with experience of leadership and governance in the Church. Pope Leo was chosen by his Augustinian confreres to guide their order in a time of change and renewal. He has now been chosen from among the cardinals to guide the Lord’s flock at this very important time, a difficult time for the whole world. His first Urbi et Orbi blessing last evening on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica brought a clear emphasis on the Church as mission. He brings to the fore a dimension of the Church’s life and purpose which is central to our understanding of ourselves. He is underlining that what Christianity has to offer is good news. It is not just missio ad extra, a mission to others—which has been our reflex for two centuries—but also missio ad intra, a mission, a call to ourselves who are baptised, a way of living our faith which is not possible without our own journey inwards, a journey in service and in prayer nourished by Word and Sacrament, as the Second Vatican Council taught.
On behalf of the people of the Archdiocese of Dublin, I pray that the pontificate of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, his service of the Church and of the world, be guided by divine wisdom, strength and serenity, as he leads the universal Church and inspires the world’s religious and political leaders through his commitment to peace and dialogue.
