Locals React to Chicago Native Becoming Pope

Before May 8, Cardinal Robert F. Prevost wasn’t a particularly well-known Catholic figure, but now he is Pope Leo XIV — one of the most famous and influential men in the world.

This is certainly exciting news for locals, given that he grew up in Chicago, served in various positions there from 1999 to 2014, and has connections to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

“There’s a lot of joy today, that’s for sure,” Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey R. Haines said at a media conference May 8. “I don’t think many of us expected there would be an American named pope.”

Archbishop Jeffery Grob was out of town, but said in a statement that it was especially gratifying to witness the history of the first pope from the United States.

“The wonderful qualities that already have been seen in the life and ministry of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, shown by his vision to leave his homeland and to go on mission in service to people of another land, renew in us our own call to be missionaries of the Gospel,” he said.

Fr. Ray Guthrie, Pastor of St. Francis de Sales, Lake Geneva, remembers the new pope from their shared time in Chicago.

“I am very excited,” says Fr. Guthrie. “He and I were at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago at the same time, and our paths crossed, but I don’t know him personally. I know many Augustinians and love their charism.”

Fr. Jordan Berghouse, the pastor of St. Peter, East Troy, was watching the livestream from St. Peter’s Square with parish school students as the anxious wait began for the new pope to appear for the first time before the crowds. Giddy with excitement, he proclaimed that this was “just one of those times when you’re so grateful to be Catholic!”

“We’ve had it on in the school, so all the kids got to watch it,” he said. “They were thrilled! They all cheered and screamed. They all asked questions like ‘Where is he from?’ They’re going to remember this forever. They’re such sacred memories.”

Dr. Jeremy W. Blackwood, Associate Professor at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Franklin, described the feeling on the ground among seminarians as the news was announced.

“It’s the first time that I’ve experienced that while working at the seminary, and to be in the lobby with a bunch of seminarians and colleagues, watching it on a big-screen television, was very moving and great. The energy was very happy, hopeful, and lots of anticipation and excitement. When they said who it was, one of my colleagues, the dean, could translate it faster than the rest of us and said, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s an American!’ We had to process for a second, and then there was a lot of cheering. I think a lot of the seminarians are excited.

Marquette University Associate Professor Kate Ward says she is delighted by the selection of Cardinal Prevost, as well as his choice of a name. She says that his association with Pope Leo XIII is a sign of his commitment to social justice and Catholic social teachings and that he is dedicated to fighting injustice, poverty and disunity.

“Choosing that name is a wonderful sign that the new pope will be with the peripheries just as Pope Francis was,” she says. “I also noticed that in his speech, Pope Leo spoke of building bridges, dialogue, and walking together — key themes of Pope Francis. But he was wearing some of the traditional vestments, not dressed with the same simplicity of Francis. He will be his own type of leader, and with the choice of a name from before our modern times, he may be signaling that he is not a ‘JPII Catholic’ or a ‘Francis Catholic’ (as people inaccurately identify so-called factions within the Church) but a pope for all Catholics.”

As with Fr. Guthrie, she also delights that she shares an alma mater with the pope, and believes that reflects on his priorities. CTU is committed to the diversity of the global Church and greater collaboration between laity and clergy and believes that will be reflected in Prevost’s papacy, Ward said.

Retired Marquette University professor Fr. Steven Avella similarly reflects that his namesake Pope Leo XIII is a strong indicator of his leadership and desire to open the Church in matters of wisdom and truth.

“This man brings so many gifts to the papacy: administrative and linguistic skills, but also the benefits of a good education and experience in the lives of ordinary people. I am sure Pope Leo XIV remembers the wisdom of his name-sake predecessor: The Church has nothing to fear from the truth.”