Editorial: Welcome, Pope Leo XIV, Chicago’s holy father

CHICAGO When Pope John Paul II visited Chicago in an estimated million people flocked to see the Holy Father who disclosed a three-hour Mass in Grant Park The Chicago Tribune called it the largest crowd ever assembled in one place in Chicago history And for decades a visit from the pope felt like the best Chicago Catholics could ever hope for Thursday one of Chicago s sons was elected pope in the Sistine Chapel Scarce in his hometown could have imagined such an honor Thursday was a historic day not just for our city but for our country In the Catholic Church s -year history Leo XIV is our first U S pontiff The news from Rome came as a shock after just over hours of deliberation within the conclave Thanks to the movie Conclave multiple of us had expected the wait to be far longer Either way the conventional wisdom was that an American pope was out of the question Prevost was considered a long shot by conclave watchers For whatever it s worth the gambling world placed long odds on a Prevost win with at least two bettors bringing in over on news of the new pope s selection The new Holy Father s first words to the population in his new role were Peace be with all of you a blessing he imparted to crowds of the faithful from the Central Loggia of St Peter s Basilica Yet before being named Leo Robert Prevost was a Chicago boy The new pope was born in and raised in Dolton just south of Chicago city limits to parents of French Italian and Spanish descent Prevost studied at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers before attending Villanova University in Pennsylvania where he earned a degree in mathematics in and also pursued studies in philosophy according to the Vatican s announcement He went on to investigation theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago Prevost was ordained to the priesthood in Rome in Prevost spent nearly two decades in missionary arrangement in Peru beginning in with roles such as parochial vicar and chancellor in Chulucanas and later director of formation for Augustinian aspirants in Trujillo After a period back in the United States he returned in as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo becoming its bishop the following year and serving until In recognition of his deep ties to the country he was granted Peruvian citizenship in He was bishop of Chiclayo Peru from to and ordained a cardinal in So what can we expect from Prevost His Augustinian roots suggest discipline and seriousness And his Chicago roots say we imply tenacity strength and fearlessness Prevost is viewed as more of a centrist than Pope Francis though he espouses a multitude of of the same compassionate positions as his predecessor especially championing the causes of movers and the poor On other issues such as women s role in the church we hear that Leo holds traditional views again in line with Pope Francis who for example opposed ordaining women as deacons Hopeful Catholics regard Leo as a prospective unifier of the church He already has sent that message God loves us all of us evil will not prevail he revealed Thursday in his first appearance as pontiff We are all in the hands of God Without fear united hand in hand with God and among ourselves we will go forward We ll find out more about Leo s vision for his pontificate and the church in the days to come For now we celebrate and our imaginations abound with what this historic news could mean for a city that requirements a shot in the arm As white smoke erupted memes and reactions flooded phones on the shores of Lake Michigan A particular favorite among this board is that the new Popemobile will be a CTA bus The Chicago Cubs were quick to lay claim to Leo s feasible allegiance especially since he was a son of the South Side By Thursday afternoon the Wrigley Field marquee proudly broadcasted Hey Chicago He s a Cubs fan Not only would we welcome Pope Leo XIV to Wrigley Field he could sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts commented in a hastily issued comment Don t hold your breath for the Pope serenading about Cracker Jack But Ricketts other suggestion has more of a chance of bearing fruit Maybe the Cubs perennially in need of divine intervention will now have a new pal in a high place Since three of his predecessors visited Yankee Stadium including Pope Paul VI who delivered the Sermon on the Mound we would invite the Pontiff to do the same at the Friendly Confines Ricketts commented delivering an immediate invitation Perhaps a double-header Later in the day though the new pope s brother declared that the pope is indubitably a White Sox fan Out in the suburbs meanwhile an Itasca billboard along I- lit up the words Da Pope against a Chicago Bears backdrop of blue and orange As a fellow Chicagoan his appointment brings an extra bliss to me explained Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield speaking for largest part all of us Mayor Brandon Johnson got in on the news borrowing from the Chicago historian Sherman Dilla Thomas Everything dope including the Pope comes from Chicago Congratulations to the first American Pope Leo XIV We hope to welcome you back home soon Johnson wrote on X One devout Chicago Catholic advised us she felt the decision is divine providence trusting that Leo s ascent is nothing short of the will of God We don t pretend to know the will of God but we do wish that Leo will bring honor to our city and give us an infusion of good news goodwill and the catalyzing hope our city so sorely demands Related Articles Thomas Friedman What Trump should keep in mind on his big Middle East trip Mihir Sharma Why I m thinking twice about traveling to the US Parmy Olson AI chatbots want you hooked maybe too hooked Lisa Jarvis Parkinson s malady decisively finds a source of hope Christopher Cokinos To dumbly go where no space budget has gone before Chicago s name gets kicked around a lot dragged by people politically invested in our failure or decline Now along with having molded a two-term American president in Barack Obama Chicago will further be known internationally as the city that nurtured a head of the Catholic Church What a great day for Chicago What a special day for our strong Catholic area Prevost was a long-shot contender for the biggest job in the Catholic world We Chicagoans love a good underdog We wouldn t have had it any other way Welcome and God bless you Pope Leo XIV Come home soon The Chicago Tribune