Dear Parishioners,

Pope Paul was the first pope that I could remember. Then it was Pope John Paul I (the shortest papacy), and soon after that Pope John Paul II (one of the longest papacies) who inspired me as a seminarian. The theologian Pope Benedict, the first Pope in centuries to “retire” (his books were almost mandatory reading in theology classes in the seminary) and our most recent Pope Francis. Each one of these popes brought out a different aspect of the Church and showed us how we could find and follow Christ.

I never thought I would be writing about an American Pope, the first one too (and one from Chicago). It is exciting to think that this is history in the making. Pope Leo is not only the first American Pope, but the first Augustinian as well. For those of you who may have spent part of your summer up in the Douglas/Saugatuck area, for many years the Augustinians were located there and several of the Augustinian priests have worked in our diocese over the years. Just this little fact alone reminds us that sometimes, in some very unexpected ways, we have a connection to the Universal Church.

When a person just looks at our Popes, we realize how rich our history is. From Peter, the first Pope, to Pope Leo XIV, there are 267 popes. This alone shows us how the Church is founded on Christ. As Our Lord picked St. Peter to be the rock on which the Church was founded, the Holy Spirit guides the Church to pick the next successor of Peter. Anyone who sits in the Chair of St. Peter knows how much they need to rely on the Lord in order to carry out His work and to guide the Church in a constantly changing world. 

In the days ahead, as we get to know our new Holy Father, please keep Pope Leo in your prayers. Through the example and footsteps of the Apostles, may he help to draw us closer to Christ.

Thanks for reading!
 

Fr. Mark