Statement by the Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis, Bishop of Salt Lake City, on Pope Leo XIV

Intermountain Catholic

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I am very happy and delighted with the election of His Eminence Robert Francis Prevost as our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. He is a man of deep prayer, humility, learning, and especially fidelity to the social and doctrinal treasures of the Church.

The Holy Spirit continues to surprise and bless his Church. For the first time in history we have a pope from the United States. Pope Leo XIV has served the Church globally, and he has the language and interpersonal skills to continue the papal ministry in continuity with his wonderful predecessors.

The Diocese of Salt Lake City rejoices together with the Universal Church on the election of Pope Leo XIV.  For us as Catholics, this is another surprise blessing from God – an awesome, spiritual moment of deep gratitude and great joy for us and for the world. The decision is a manifestation of the unity among the cardinals as they elected the new Successor of Peter. I thank them for their service to our Church.

I humbly pledge my faithful obedience and loyalty to our new Vicar of Christ and Bishop of Rome as he undertakes his ministry to the Church and to the world. I ask the people of God of this local Church, the Diocese of Salt Lake City, together with all our brothers and sisters throughout the world, to join me in prayer just as you did so faithfully during our time of sadness at the death of Pope Francis.

Let us pray for our Pope Leo XIV, that he will lead faithfully and guide humbly, with the mind of Christ, the Church in this age of technological acceleration; to bravely cast out into the deep to bring the hope and mercy of God to the poor, marginalized and in need with the heart of Christ, and to radically bring the love of God to all people of every race, creed and state in life – from conception to the end of life. His very choice of the name Leo is a strong signal of his commitment to social justice so needed in our world today; the most famous predecessor with that name is Pope Leo XIII who wrote the great Encyclical Rerum Novarum, which addressed the rights and wellbeing of workers.

I am very sure that our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, our Supreme Pontiff and newly visible Vicar of Jesus Christ, Servant of the Servants of God, will inspire us all to a greater fidelity to the Gospel and the great Mission of Evangelization in the world today.  This “son of St. Augustine” assures us that “evil will not prevail,” and that we can trust in God’s goodness and mercy.