His Holiness Pope Leo XIV – born Robert Francis Prevost – is the primary particular person from the US to steer the Catholic Church, though he additionally holds Peruvian citizenship after working within the Latin American nation for a few years.
He was chosen by cardinals voting on the Vatican in Rome, and later greeted hundreds gathered in St. Peter’s Sq. with a message of peace.
Sturdy voices wanted
Mr. Guterres prolonged heartfelt congratulations to the brand new pontiff and Roman Catholics in every single place.
“The election of a brand new Pope is a second of profound non secular significance for hundreds of thousands of devoted all over the world, and it comes at a time of nice world challenges,” he stated.
“Our world is in want of the strongest voices for peace, social justice, human dignity and compassion.”
Constructing on the legacy
The Secretary-Normal stated he appears to be like ahead to constructing on the lengthy legacy of cooperation between the UN and the Holy See – nurtured most just lately by the late Pope Francis – to advance solidarity, foster reconciliation, and construct a simply and sustainable world for all.
“It’s rooted within the first phrases of Pope Leo,” he famous. “Regardless of the wealthy range of backgrounds and beliefs, individuals in every single place share a standard aim: Might peace be with all of the world.”
© FAO/Giuseppe Carotenuto
António Guterres, UN Secretary-Normal (fourth from proper) greets an official in entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica on the funeral of Pope Francis.
Pope Leo, 69, was born and grew up within the midwestern metropolis of Chicago and spent years working as a missionary in Peru, earlier than turning into a bishop after which rising to go the worldwide Order of St. Augustine.
He turned a cardinal in 2023 and went on to run the Vatican workplace that selects and manages Catholic bishops worldwide.
He succeeds Pope Francis – the primary Pope from Latin America – who died in April after serving for 12 years.
Following his demise, the UN Secretary-Normal recalled that “Pope Francis was a transcendent voice for peace, human dignity and social justice” who “leaves behind a legacy of religion, service and compassion for all — particularly these left on the margins of life or trapped by the horrors of battle.”
