Catholics and Diocese in Colorado Springs celebrate selection of new pope

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - As Catholics around the world are celebrating the election of the new pope, practitioners here in Colorado Springs are equally as excited about the new pontiff, especially because of where he comes from.

It was a momentous and surprising day for Catholics everywhere, as the Vatican's 267th pontiff, Robert Prevost, now named Pope Leo XIV, was revealed to be American-born, hailing from Chicago.

Local catholics in attending the Noon mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in downtown Colorado Springs to celebrate the new Pope.

Inside, Father Thomas Pressley took a moment to welcome in the new era of Pope Leo the XIV. The announcement of his appointment came just 40 minutes before the service.

He cited the new Pope from his speech at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, where, per translators, Pope Leo stated: "Evil will not prevail, because we are in God's hands."

"That's a very encouraging movement to speak of, an emphasis, in his words, on peace, on unity, of course, asking for our prayers within the people." said Father Thomas.

Parishioners telling KRDO13 that message resonated with them.

"The message that he conveys and the unity that he brings to the world, the peace. And that's what we're hoping." said Eva Esquuibel, attending the mass at St. Mary's on Thursday. "As an Augustinian, he's a follower of Saint Augustine, so that's a very hopeful message for all of us." she said.

"To bring all Americans and all the world together, stop the war in Russia, Ukraine." added Walt Lovato, another attendee of the mass.

The Colorado Springs Diocese says despite Pope Leo's relatively younger age for the position, he brings a lot of experience.

"He was a missionary.  he was a pastor at heart.  he was a bishop.  but he is also a great administrator." said Lucas Pollice, the Director of Evangelization and Discipleship within the Diocese of Colorado Springs.

For many years Pope Leo was a missionary and bishop in Peru, where he lived for many years. More recently he has lived in Rome, serving as a Prefect, working directly with Bishops and Cardinals, which is one reason Pollice believes that Leo may have had the votes favor him for selection.

As for the name Leo, Pollice says that the name follows the previous Leo the XIII, who ushered the Church 'into modernity' from the 19th century to the 20th century. He says that Leo will likely stick to that theme of being a bridge builder, and spreading the church's messaging to a new generation.

He also believes that Leo XIV will carry more of a centrist position as Pope, compared to his predecessor, Pope Francis, many of whom considered to be more progressive thinking.

"There's things that he agreed with with Francis, or some things he didn't agree with with Francis. So but, you know, when he came out, he talked about some great themes of Francis's pontificate, which is [that] we're a missionary church, the call to discipleship that God loves all people and that the church is supposed to go out and dialog." explained Pollice.

Notably, Pollice says that Leo, despite being an American, left a strong message during his first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

"When he when he made his announcement, he spoke in Italian, and he spoke in Latin, [he] also spoke in Spanish to his dioceses that he was bishop with in Peru, but I think he didn't speak english, and I think that says something." he stated.

For the speed at which Pope Leo was elected, which was on the fourth ballot over the course of two days, he explains that Pope Francis was elected on the fifth ballot, and Benedict the 16th was elected on the fourth ballot back in 2005.

As far as the Pope's Chicago roots, many were enjoying the discussion over his sports fandom. The Pope's brother clearing the air to a local news station that his brother is a dedicated White Sox fan, and not a Cubs fan as originally reported earlier.