POSTNOTE May 19, 2025: Pope Leo XIV was officially inaugurated as Pope on May 18. Basilica of St. Mary Pastor Dan Griffith wrote on the new Pope in the weekend church newsletter. His comments are here: Leo XIV a Pastors View 5 18 25. The Vatican website is always available. I will continue to emphasize the words “tone” and “positive” regarding the new Pontiff. It’s an impossible ministry, but my guess is that “Pope Bob” will be equal to the task.
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I’m writing at 2:40 p.m. CDT May 8. Earlier this afternoon we were listening to Shostakovich at the Minnesota Orchestra. My phone was on silent mode. Afterwards was a message from a friend that a new Pope was chosen: an American. Cardinal Robert Prevost, native son of Chicago, Illinois..
I’m lifelong Catholic, so I certainly have an interest, but I wasn’t at all into speculation. I had no information at all about Prevost. The name sounds French, which I’m partial to! My narrative has always been that the main function of the Pope is to establish a positive tone as a leader. I’ve learned in the last few minutes that Pope Francis had appointed him as Bishop and then as Cardinal, which is also a positive for me.
More later.
First, best wishes to all at Mother’s Day, May 11. In our state, Mother’s Day competes with Fishing Opener, and in my town it is immediately preceded by the Community Garage Sale….
Here is the postcard from early 1900s I’ve chosen for this Mother’s Day.

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More on the election of Pope Leo XIV.
9:20 a.m. May 9: It goes without saying that the news is awash with information about the new Pope. My brief comments will be hopefully off the beaten path of the avalanche of words and images about what this all means. These are just my thoughts.
If you wish to relive the time when the new Pope was announced, here is the YouTube from Vatican TV. (The white smoke comes at 1:23, scroll ahead to near the end for the introduction of the new Pope at about 2:40.)
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I like the descriptor “positive”. His selection was not a casual exercise by the Cardinal-electors. He will become the visible face of the Church: a positive role model for people generally: like a Mr. Rogers Good Neighbor; rather than a Mr.Grinch.
I liked the selection of Pope Francis a dozen years ago as well, and the ensuing results. Here’s my post from March, 2013.
Francis seems to have had a considerable role in advancing the prospects of the new Pope, and I consider that a real positive,
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9:30 pm. Saturday, May 10: Personally, and from friends, the initial reaction to Leo XIV (Robert Prevost) is positive. In an institution as ancient and as immense as the Roman Catholic Church, the task for a leader is daunting. The Pope is 69, and presumably has a goodly number of years ahead, though one of his predecessors in recent years, Jean Paul I, was Pope for a single month, in late summer of 1978.
Whatever ones feelings about the institution, the Catholic Church is an immense group of persons on endless diversity, in all ways. Roughly one in five Americans are counted as “Catholic”; about one in four Minnesotans. There are 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide among the approximately 8 billion people on the planet – about one of six, all unique. The mantra at Basilica for many years has been to welcome everyone wherever they are at on their faith journey, and it follows this declaration in action.
There is much more to be said; many opinions already, which were expected. This is a story to be continued.
Leo XIV is the 8th Pope in my lifetime. You can read about any of them at the Vatican website. In my case, Pius XII was Pope through my first 18 years; then came John XXIII in my college years – the ecumenical years. Then Paul VI, John Paul I (for one month), John Paul II (the Polish Pope), Benedict XVI, then Francis (for 12 years).
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A single point of personal privilege: I had no idea there was a Cardinal Robert Prevost before the Conclave. Immediately, his French name was very intriguing, since my father was 100% French-Canadian, which makes me 50% French-Canadian. The ethnicity story is just beginning to develop, and my cousin in Montreal offered the first tentative ideas shortly after the new Pope was announced. Here’s how Wiki has the story.
As a first draft of that aspect of this Pope, I offer what Remi had to say on May 8:
“I came across something you might find interesting. Many of the new pope’s ancestors on his mother’s side were French Canadians. One of his ancestors was a Senegalese slave who had a child with a French-Canadian settler. Another line traces back to Acadian roots. As it turns out, I’m related to several of them—and you might be too, through the Bernard line (not the Collette side). I’ve attached a short list of some of these ancestral links. I don’t think many know this. Maybe it’s even worth a post?
French Canadians founded the colony of Louisiana and New Orleans. Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d’Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French colonist parents. His brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne Bienville, founded New Orleans. The priest-chronicler Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix described New Orleans in 1721 as a place of a hundred wretched hovels (of Canadiens) in a malarious wet thicket of willows and dwarf palmettos, infested by serpents and alligators; he seems to have been the first, however, to predict for it an imperial future.
When the United States purchased Louisiana in 1803, there were 40,000 French speakers in the territory (ibid). The Mississippi River was a vital waterway, facilitating travel between Canada and New Orleans. Consequently, a notable portion of the early settlers in New Orleans hailed from Canadien families. Over time, however, immigration from France and the Antilles gradually surpassed the Canadienpopulation in New Orleans. In contrast to the “gay and fickle Parisian” residents, the Canadienswere often described as “staid and sober.” It was not until the end of the 19th century, after more and more ‘Americains’ moved into New Orleans, that English replaced French as the primary language (Ekberg, 1998).”
COMMENTS (more at end of post):
from Gail: Thanks, Dick! I was shocked to learn that the new Pope opposes gay marriage and women bishops, but my concerns were reduced when I heard that he had been made a Cardinal by Pope Francis.
response from Dick: Your concern would merit a very long conversation. Of course, I understand, being a lifelong Catholic on the liberal side…beyond everything the Church is an immense and unwieldy institution. The best a Pope can do is to softly articulate a more reasonable way of looking at things – to be the “good neighbor” I mention. I’m about to go to Basilica for Church. I’ll add to the post when I get home if anything significant is said. [After Church] All I’ll say for now is that today’s presiding Priest, retired after over 50 years in the Priesthood, gave probably the most powerful sermon I’ve ever heard on the general issue of how this Pope and Francis were chosen, and the role of women in the church. I can’t summarize it. But I am hoping that Basilica will make it accessible on their website – I’ll make the request. Change in the church, which has such a long, long history, is not abrupt, but it is constant. See also the comment from Catherine below.
from Brian: Thanks for posting! And the pope was born in the same city I was, Chicago. He’s younger than I. And he also, as you may know, has Haitian roots.
response from Dick: There is no doubt more to the story as it evolves. The relationships between French-Canadians, Acadians, New Orleans, Haiti, on and on. One of my early French-Canadian ancestors in what it now the United States was identified as the first white woman in what is now St. Louis….