Catholics give thanks for Pope Leo at Mass May 11 at the cathedral basilica
Joey Harrison and his family had several reasons to celebrate at Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis on Good Shepherd Sunday.
The recent Kirkwood High School graduate and his family, including several from out of town, attended the May 11 Mass for our new shepherd, Pope Leo XIV, elected just two days before Joey’s graduation.
It was apparent that Joey had done his homework on the new pontiff, noting the pope’s choice of name and the connection to Leo XIII, who initiated the Church’s modern social doctrine. Through his encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” Leo XIII emphasized the dignity of workers and condemned the dangers of unchecked capitalism and socialism at the turn of the 20th century.
“I feel like he’s the perfect man for the job,” said Joey, who splits his time between two parishes, St. Peter in Kirkwood and St. Mary Magdalen in Brentwood. “Right now, we have the AI revolution going on and new technology. I think he’s going to help guide the Church through this process, which we need. He’s also going to care for workers, for the poor, the marginalized, which is something we need.”
While the world will have to wait and see how Pope Leo XIV will guide the Church, Joey said he’s hopeful that the Holy Father will lean on tradition, but also allow it to be transformed in a way to go out and help others. “I think the perfect thing that the pope needs to do is basically keep the tradition and then allow that tradition to help guide the Church and help bring forth the kingdom of God,” he said.
In his homily, Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski said he took some “deleterious pleasure” — meaning to take some delight in another’s misfortune — when the pope’s name was announced.
“I must admit that I took some deleterious pleasure, in that all of those who were making their predictions were wrong,” he said to laughter. “But to take even greater pleasure in the fact that Jesus promises to us that the Holy Spirit will be with us always, even to the end of time. And when Pope Leo’s name was announced, I thought, how true Jesus’ promise is, for no human expectation would have named him to be the next Holy Father — maybe just a few. But yet the Holy Spirit, continuously guiding our Church, gives to us another good shepherd to lead us, God’s people.”
The cathedral basilica was nearly at capacity, including many who were in town for graduations and to celebrate Mother’s Day. Donald and Rose Holbert drove from Springfield, Illinois, for the day. Both said they were excited that the new pope was from their home state of Illinois and look forward to learning more about him.
Donald Holbert said he hopes that Pope Leo will be a unifying figure in a world rife with war and division.
“You have your pope and he’s the head holy one, but yet, it’s never been something that we can say he’s from America, he’s from the U.S.,” he said. “Maybe we can bridge that gap overseas, and we all come together as one. That’s my hope.”
Caitlin and Thomas Zawistowicz of St. Norbert Parish in Florissant, who attended Mass at the cathedral basilica with their seven children and Caitlin’s parents visiting from North Carolina, said the election of a new pope is an exciting time for the Church.
“I’m really excited, and I hope that he will be a faithful father for us,” Caitlin Zawistowicz said. “I’m hopeful he’ll unite the Church and just bring about greater faith and excitement and renewal in the Catholic Church.”
Their son Oliver watched the papal announcement with his fifth-grade classmates at St. John Paul II Preparatory School. They were thrilled when they learned the former Cardinal Robert Prevost was from the United States.
“I was surprised that he was American,” he said. “I did not think that was going to happen, really. I was excited when I heard he was from Illinois.”
Archbishop Rozanski was traveling home from Kenya and had a layover at Chicago O’Hare International Airport when he heard the news of the pope’s election. The archbishop said that while the Holy Father is from the United States, he also brings with him a worldly experience, ministering in leadership roles with the Augustinians, as a missionary in Peru and later as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, which is responsible for choosing bishops throughout the world.
“I think that as Pope Leo begins his papacy, we will hear that call to each one of us truly to be witnesses to the Gospel,” the archbishop said. “I think his words will echo to the peace that we all desire in our troubled world and in those troubled regions of the world, and he will totally be a course for peace in the whole world.”
