Unitive Christian Community: The Theme for Pope Leo XIV's Pontificate.
Getting to Know the New Pope through his Homilies
One of the common expressions among Catholics regarding the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost, born in Chicago, Illinois, is a general feeling of shock, especially among us Americans. Furthermore, Pope Leo is not only a native son of America but also Illinois—I am also a native son of Illinois. It’s a surreal experience. The Land of Lincoln is now the Land of Pope Leo XIV.
The first words he addressed us from the Loggia are a good place to start for understanding the theme of Pope Leo’s pontificate. Many have already commented on his praise of Pope Francis’ pontificate. Still, anyone who desires to move forward and bring about the unity of a community understands the importance of launching from a place of positivity and optimism.
Nonetheless, Pope Leo XIV led with his missionary spirit, focused on unity and the desire for unity among his new flock, the Catholic Church. The newly elected Pope Leo, leading with Jesus on hia lips, said, “A greeting from the Risen Christ, the Shepherd who gave His life for God’s flock.”1
Pope Leo’s thoughts are founded on a desire for Christians to live a community life by cultivating humility. Pope Leo, then Fr. Robert Prevost, the Prior General of the Order of St. Augustine, asks, “Who is Jesus for you? Are you truly looking for Him? Do you want to live as His disciple, imitating His example when He says, “My blood will be poured out, my life given in service to others?”2
St. Paul echoes this understanding of humility in living the Christian life. Paul reminds us, writing to the church in Galatia, “Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.”3 A keen understanding of what it takes to live in community with one another, our new Pope informs us today in his homily, “No one can be a Christian alone…this sharing of life with others that we can know ourselves, know the other, and know God.”
The idea of unity and community pervades Pope Leo's thoughts. In his Easter Sunday homily on April 5th, 2021, the future Pope Leo XIV exclaimed, " We see how the disciples always gather in His name, in the name of Christ—that is, in community. It is important to live an experience of community in the Church. No one is saved alone.”4
Christian community is a constant theme that continues to be at the forefront of Prevost’s mind well into 2024. In an August homily, Cardinal Prevost expresses an understanding that the day-to-day life of the Christian can become cumbersome—that, like Elijah, we can call out to God and say “I cannot continue,” but it is in community that we find our way to the Lord. Prevost echoed the importance of Christian community and unity, “One of the ways He tells us to keep walking is when we are gathered in community. Alone, perhaps we don’t succeed, but if we are with our sisters and brothers, if we are with friends, if we have learned to form a community… as Jesus Himself promised, “Where two or three are gathered in my name”…the Lord is truly with us.”5
It is no wonder that when examining Robert Prevost's body of work, he seeks continuity with his predecessor, Pope Francis. The continuity is key for Prevost because, as he explains in his first address as Pope Leo XIV, it is one in which all of us in the Church must be united in the Old Testament image of God’s power—His hands. However, it is a unity in the Body of Christ, where we believers, “without fear, united hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we move forward. We are disciples of Christ.
Christ leads the way. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge to allows it to be reached by God and by his love.”6
“Transcript of Cardinal Robert Prevost’s First Speech as Pope Leo XIV,” NPR, May 8, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/05/08/nx-s1-5392318/transcript-pope-leo-xiv-speech.
Robert Francis Prevost, God Loves Everyone: The Essential Pope Leo XIV, Selected Homilies and Sermons: The Voice of Robert Francis Prevost, from Peru to the Papacy, (Kindle Edition: Huayruro Editorial), 2025.
Galatians 2:20, NAB-RE
Robert Francis Prevost, God Loves Everyone: The Essential Pope Leo XIV, Selected Homilies and Sermons: The Voice of Robert Francis Prevost, from Peru to the Papacy, (Kindle Edition: Huayruro Editorial), 2025.
Ibid.
“Transcript of Cardinal Robert Prevost’s First Speech as Pope Leo XIV,” NPR, May 8, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/05/08/nx-s1-5392318/transcript-pope-leo-xiv-speech.
Like most when I heard “it’s an American Pope!” I registered some shock as truly I thought “certainly time for perhaps an African or Asian pontiff.” What really inspired me though was his chosen name Leo XIV….Leo XIII is one of my all time favorites, he served during a time of immense world change what with the Industrial Revolution, mass migration, and a coarsening of the culture. All themes in play today. Leo XIII left an indelible mark on the 19th century, John Paul II on the 20th maybe this Pope will be as consequential.
Amen! God is love, so let Love led the way