Much like L.A., this American-born pope transcends borders

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The faithful successful Los Angeles, America’s astir Catholic city, were delighted — and a small stunned — Thursday to larn a Chicago-born clergyman with heavy roots successful Peru had been elected to pb the world’s 1.4 cardinal Catholics.

The astonishing elevation of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, to pope marks the archetypal clip idiosyncratic from the U.S. has been entrusted with what is arguably the highest-profile presumption successful planetary religion.

It was an result that caught galore followers of the Catholic Church, which has been shifting its absorption distant from its shrinking basal successful Europe to the increasing fig of faithful successful the planetary south, wholly by surprise.

“I had benignant of discounted it, because, you know, we didn’t deliberation that an American would needfully beryllium a bully idea,” fixed the magnitude of powerfulness and power the U.S. already wields successful the world, said Father Allan Deck, a theology prof astatine Loyola Marymount University successful Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez speaks astatine a lectern.

But due to the fact that Prevost, who has chosen to beryllium called Pope Leo XIV, spent decades serving the religion successful South America and had risen to enactment of an planetary spiritual bid known arsenic the Augustinians, Deck said he’s uniquely positioned to unify Catholics astir the globe.

He mightiness besides animate a resurgence of the religion successful the United States, wherever galore parish pews person been sparsely populated for decades.

“The prime is perfectly inspirational; I americium thrilled,” Deck said.

The announcement was doubly saccharine for Carolina Guevara, main communications serviceman for the L.A. Archdiocese, who was successful Piura, Peru, celebrating her grandmother’s 105th day erstwhile the caller pope was announced.

“It’s truly a reflection of our migrant religion to person a pope who is Peruvian and American,” Guevara said. “To perceive him interruption the contented and talk successful Spanish to code his hometown — that was specified a beauteous infinitesimal arsenic well. That filled our hearts.”

For Catholic Angelenos, and Peruvian immigrants successful particular, “there’s going to beryllium a consciousness of large joy,” she said.

Pope Leo XIV bends his caput successful supplication astatine St. Peter's Basilica.

And overmuch similar metropolitan Los Angeles, it’s hard to overstate conscionable however planetary successful scope the caller pope is.

He was calved successful Chicago to a begetter of Italian and French ancestry and a parent of Spanish ancestry. He pursued his acquisition successful the U.S. and Italy. He is simply a naturalized national of Peru, wherever helium was a clergyman for 20 years. He speaks English, Italian, Spanish, Latin and French.

His divers inheritance and wide vulnerability to antithetic cultures had California’s Catholic assemblage buzzing with excitement, anticipation and a consciousness of familiarity.

“He truly understands what is the world of the antithetic cultures of the United States,” said Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez. “Those cultures are a existent blessing for us.”

Joseph Tomás Mckellar, manager of Pico California, a ample faith-based community-organizing network, was euphoric Thursday morning, minutes aft Prevost finished his archetypal code arsenic pope from the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square successful Vatican City.

“I’m truthful emotional, I’m conscionable benignant of shaking,” helium said. “What we person is simply a pope who is simply a span builder, who is going to transportation connected successful the footsteps of Pope Francis and guarantee the religion is proximate to those who are astir excluded, who are connected the margins, who consciousness mislaid successful the turbulent times successful our world.”

“The information that they selected an American who went retired [into the world] says thing astir the priorities of the church,” Mckellar added.

Those priorities had to alteration due to the fact that the religion itself is changing truthful quickly.

A pistillate wearing a achromatic lace veil kneels successful a religion pew.

Once firmly anchored successful Rome and drafting its apical leaders from Europe, the Catholic Church has seen its parishioner numbers shrink successful countries specified arsenic Italy and Spain, and hardly clasp dependable successful astir of the United States.

The existent maturation is astir exclusively successful the Southern Hemisphere — wherever the religion inactive dominates culture, authorities and galore aspects of regular life.

For example, Brazil has much than 120 cardinal Catholics, accounting for much than fractional the population. In Mexico, astir 100 cardinal Catholics marque up much than 70% of the population. And successful the Philippines, much than 75 cardinal Catholics relationship for greater than 80% of the population, according to the Catholic World Mission.

So erstwhile an Argentinian cardinal was elected pope successful 2013, galore successful the religion hailed it arsenic a welcome, astir inevitable evolution. That was until Pope Francis, arsenic helium chose to beryllium called, started acting successful unpredictable ways.

He repudiated the luxurious trappings favored by immoderate cardinals, and his hands-on devotion to the mediocre broke with galore longstanding traditions, and added a populist flare to others.

For example, connected Holy Thursday, popes traditionally washed the feet of 12 antheral priests, a amusement of humility meant to echo Jesus’ washing the feet of his disciples the nighttime earlier helium died. Pope Francis shocked conservatives erstwhile helium expanded the ritual, moving it extracurricular the confines of the Vatican and making it a awesome of inclusion, washing the feet of prisoners, women and Muslims.

Francis created positions of authorization for women, including putting a nun successful complaint of a large Vatican bureau for the archetypal clip successful the church’s 2,000-year history. And portion maintaining the church’s longstanding tenet that cheery enactment is sinful, helium said that simply being cheery is not a transgression and met with LGBTQ+ radical from astir the world.

A antheral prays astatine the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Progressives successful the religion anticipation Pope Leo volition proceed wherever Francis near off.

Leo has been criticized for erstwhile comments astir the LGBTQ+ community, Mckellar said, but helium trusts the caller pope volition proceed successful Francis’ footsteps.

“I cannot ideate that helium is not going to physique connected the opening of the doors of mercy, and invited to each people, including our LGBTQ+ siblings,” Mckellar said.

Others questioned whether the caller pope volition person the charm and social-media savvy required to execute arsenic the beforehand antheral for the world’s biggest religion.

“One happening we inactive don’t cognize astir Leo is whether helium has the property for the modern papacy,” said Richard Wood, president of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies astatine the University of Southern California. “I deliberation his humility comes crossed large and clear, but does helium person the charisma Francis had for the societal media age? I fishy it volition beryllium a quieter mentation of that if helium has it.”

He’ll look different challenges arsenic well. Wood pointed retired that the Vatican is successful existent fiscal trouble. “The Vatican has mislaid a batch of its American, European, African and Asian donors. Can helium bring them backmost to the table?” helium asked.

“The religion is rightly acrophobic with preaching the Gospels, but it is besides a worldly instauration that has to wage its bills, and the caller pope tin assistance lick immoderate of that.”