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May 8, 2025Gaudium magnum. Great joy. With those words of an age-old formula, a cardinal deacon of the Roman Catholic Church made an historic announcement: Habemus papam – we have a pope!
Following upon the billowing white smoke above the Sistine Chapel and the pealing of the mighty bells of Saint Peter’s, our new pope appeared on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica, Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost taking the name Pope Leo XIV.
The spiritual leader of more than 1 billion Roman Catholics worldwide and considered by many to be the moral voice in every age, Pope Leo XIV has many titles but perhaps the most common one, the most simple one, and the most endearing one is Holy Father. Yes, Pope Leo XIV is to be a holy father, taking his mission from the very words of Jesus Himself to the first pope, Saint Peter: Feed my lambs; tend my sheep. Follow Me.
It is a Gaudium magnum that we, the members of the Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Providence receive our new Holy Father. May he always enjoy the intercession of our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Providence as he strives always to lead us to Jesus, the Risen Lord and Savior of all.
- Msgr. Albert Kenney, Diocesan Administrator, Diocese of Providence