A Church Musician's Thoughts on Pope Leo XIV

Habemus Papam!

What a joyful day we had yesterday at the announcement of Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Roman Pontiff in the Catholic Church. It was a special day for us Catholics, who were able to celebrate with the whole universal church that we once again have someone in the papal office, a Servant of the Servants of God.

I think due to the prevalence of social media and general media coverage of the events in Rome, there seemed to be a heightened investment in the proceedings at the Sistine Chapel. More people appeared curious as to "what happens after Francis?" Indeed, it does feel quite pivotal now, as Leo XIV begins and everyone wonders, 'what does he think about this or that issue.' To that I say two things:

1) AWESOME! More people, Catholics in particular, could benefit from a little more 'papal perspective' in their lives.

2) Unless you can pull up a quote from Cardinal Robert Prevost about something specific he has previously talked about, you do not know where he stands on any given issue. Even then, excerpted quotes taken out of context rarely (if ever) give proper representation to the speaker, so let's all slow down for just a minute here.

Pope Leo XIV greets the audience gathered in St. Peter's Square. Creator: ALBERTO PIZZOLI | Credit: AFP via Getty Images

To characterize him as anything more than who he says he is right now is premature and

unproductive. I have already heard everything from "He is a complete liberal and I hope he changes his views," to, "I heard he privately celebrated the TLM in his home chapel in Peru." Can we wait a week, or a month, or even 6 months before we really start to characterize this man, who he is, and what he does? 80% of people talking about him over the past 12 hours had no idea who he was/what he's done in the past as of 13 hours ago. It is just plain silly to think that you can Google your way into someone's mind in such a short time frame. When I get to know someone, I tend to prefer using what they say to me as my first impression of them.

His first words to all of us were of peace-- which our world needs so desperately. All of us are constantly searching for peace, and we often look in the wrong places to find it. Our modern world does not look to Christ near as much as it looks to 'the next big thing,' the trendy solution to whatever problems might ail a person, perhaps. We have become so wrapped up in ourselves and our own little worlds that we forget that true peace does not come from the world around us, it comes from Christ: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27) What blest assurance we have in Jesus! And we are called to offer this peace to one another, as at every Mass we exchange the Sign (kiss) of Peace: 'Peace be with you.' In his first opportunity to speak to the world as Supreme Pontiff, Leo XIV says that to all of us! I think we're in good hands.

I titled this post, 'A Church Musician's thoughts on Pope Leo XIV.' If you're wondering what the musical side of this is: there isn't one. I'm just a church musician with a blog. I've got a small platform and I'm standing on it because I can. I have no qualification or 'insider trading knowledge' to offer you. Most of the other takes you're reading today don't have anything special either. There are professional journalists who are spouting pure nonsense and misinformation all over the place. Whatever research you're doing on our new pope, I hope it is through a lens of simple, child-like curiosity. If you're looking for a past quote from him to stir you up in a tizzy about an issue you're passionate about, you'll find it. If you're looking for something to inspire you or encourage you about our new pope, you'll probably find that too. My two cents: don't look to find, look to understand.

Instead: Pray. I'm looking forward to a celebratory Mass for the Pope today in my own parish, where we will once again unite ourselves with the universal Catholic Church in a liturgical celebration for Pope Leo XIV. During that Mass, we will pray that he will worthily follow in the apostolic succession of the office he now holds! It's an incredible task to be the pope. As the bishop of Rome, he oversees the Diocese of Rome and tends to his local flock. He also oversees the entire population of Catholics, and all their local leaders. There are 1.4 billion (BILLION) Catholics in the world. The weight of the world is on his shoulders-- so we pray. Pray for Pope Leo XIV, for his papacy and all those entrusted with the care of our holy Catholic Church, and beyond!

-McChoir

PS: For what it's worth, I did watch some of the Mass he celebrated with the Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel this morning. They sang Missa de Angelis (including the 'Ite Missa est!') and hearing our Holy Father intone the 'Gloria' with a familiar melody like that was quite lovely! There's a quick 'church music thought' for you.