The Bishop of Northampton welcomes the election of Pope Leo XIV
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Pope Leo XIV has been elected to become the next Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Church.
In this moment, we pray in gratitude for our Risen Saviour’s abiding and generous love for His Body, the Church, in giving us the gift of a new Pope. Pope Leo lived his priesthood within the religious life of the Augustinian Order. And so, he will have drunk deeply from the spirituality of St Augustine. This great saint is the Doctor of Grace.
Pope Leo will show us the power of God’s gracious love at work in our lives and calling us to a deeper experience of this love for ourselves and through us, for others. He may share with us in time, why he chose the name Leo. The last Pope to choose this name is known for his pastoral solicitude towards the right of workers. He was able to draw upon the theological insights of St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas. He dedicated the world of his time to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the twentieth century to the Holy Spirit. May we see something of this in the ministry of Pope Leo XIV?
At this important moment in salvation history and in our troubled world, please join me in prayingfor Pope Leo XIV, that he will show us how to become missionary evangelists of loving charity.
Every person may be comforted by Pope Leo XIV’s words on the occasion of his election.Greeting us withe the words ‘Peace be with you’, he said, ‘This is the peace of the Risen Christ,a disarming and humble and preserving peace. It comes from God. God, who loves all of us,without any limits or conditions.’
Yours devotedly in Christ,
Bishop David Oakley
Bishop of Northampton
The Archbishop of Birmingham welcomes the election of Pope Leo XIV
The Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle welcomes the election of Pope Leo XIV
