Hawaiʻi Catholics celebrate election of Pope Leo XIV, first American pope

Bishop Larry Silva of the Diocese of Honolulu congratulated Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who the College of Cardinals elected Thursday as the new Holy Father to succeed Pope Francis.

Prevost is the first American-born pope, the 267th in the church’s history. The 69-year-old Chicago native will lead a church for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. He has chosen the name Pope Leo XIV.

White smoke poured from a chimney at the Sistine Chapel at 6:09 p.m. local time (6:09 a.m. Hawaiʻi time). A little more than an hour later, Pope Leo XIV appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and greeted the faithful: “Peace be with you!”

Bishop Silva said: “It is with great joy that we have heard the news of the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV! There is a special pride that he was born and raised in the United States, but he has a great deal of international experience. He served as the Superior General of the Augustinian Order, so he was headquartered in Rome but was exposed to the Church throughout the world.”

There was excitement about the new pope on Maui, too.

“I think he’ll be wonderful,” said the Rev. Msgr. Terrence Watanabe, Vicar Forane for the Maui Vicariate and pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wailuku. “We’re excited that he’ll be the first American pope. He has tremendous global experience, working in Peru and serving as the leader of the Augustinian Order.”

Prevost, born to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, was a missionary in Peru before he became a bishop there. He was ordained as a priest in 1982.

Watanabe said he recently came across a quote from Prevost, before he was elected pope today in Rome. His quote was: “We are often worried about teaching doctrine, but we risk forgetting that our first duty is to communicate the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus.”

That sentiment is very much in alignment with Pope Francis, Watanabe said, who wanted Catholics worldwide “to live the faith and share the faith with others.”

The message is clear, he said, the pope wants “us to bring people to the Lord and bring people to Jesus.”

Bishop Silva added that Pope Leo XIV “served most of his priesthood and several years as a bishop in Latin America. About two years ago, Pope Francis appointed him the Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, which vets candidates for bishops throughout the world and makes recommendations to the Pope, so that position also gave him exposure to the Church throughout the world.”

“As Bishop of Rome, he is already familiar with his new diocese and its culture; and as a bishop with international experience, he seems ideal as the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church throughout the world,” Silva said.

“Serving as Pope is a great honor, but also a tremendous responsibility. Our prayers for him are very important in keeping him in good health and focused on what the Holy Spirit wants him to accomplish as the Successor of the Apostle Peter.”

“May the Lord bless and guide our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV!”

Silva will preside at a Mass for Pope Leo XIV at 6 p.m. Monday at Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu.