For the first time, Fr. Nathaniel Glenn, parochial vicar of St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix, prayed for newly elected Pope Leo XIV in the Eucharistic Prayer within hours of the latter’s election as the 267th pontiff May 8.
Fr. Glenn celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for the Election of a Pope during the basilica’s regularly scheduled daily noon Mass.
“I imagine [the new pope] has a very lonely and long night ahead of him. So, as his American brothers and sisters, we pray for him that our Lord can bless him with all the grace that he needs to lead His Church,” Fr. Glenn said in his opening remarks.
In his homily, Fr. Glenn expressed relief that he hadn’t been elected pope, referencing the fact that any baptized Catholic male could technically be elected to the papacy.
He acknowledged that while not much is known about Pope Leo XIV — the previous Cardinal Robert Prevost, born in Chicago in 1955 — in the days ahead, we will all be inundated with information. He cautioned his congregation to be wary of news that would be published in the coming days trying to influence how to think of the new pope.
“They’re going to try and tell us who he is, and they’re going to try and tell us what to feel,” he said. “But we know who he is, and we know how to feel. He’s our Holy Father. And we love him, without knowing who he is. And as our pope, we owe him our great affection. As our supreme pontiff on Earth, we owe him our respect and our obedience. And as the newest occupant of one of the hardest jobs on Earth, we owe him our sincere prayers.”
Chris Jackson had traveled from Jacksonville, Fla., to attend a conference at the Phoenix Convention Center across the street from the basilica. A devout Catholic, he knew he had to get to Mass as soon as he heard the news.
“I was hoping that it would be announced sometime while the convention was going on, so I knew if it was, I was going to come here [to the basilica],” he said. “I’m just glad we have a pope and pray for God’s grace on the pope and God’s leadership for him so he can guide His Church.”
Rosa Valencia from St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Phoenix shared that she felt like an orphan during the Church’s sede vacante period, the time between the pope’s death and the election of a new pontiff, expressing that the pope is akin to a father for the entire globe.
“We must continue praying for our new pope … who must set an example and also help all of humanity to be good Christians and to have a heart that is, above all, fraternal,” Valencia shared in Spanish.
Originally from Uruapan, Michoacán, México, Valencia also noted the significance that Pope Leo XIV spent much of his priesthood and episcopal ministry serving in Latin America.
“It’s important because it’s also how you begin to know our culture — our way of being — because we’re all different,” she said. “In every country we have different cultures, different ways of thinking, different ways of living.”
Modesto Valdez, a parishioner at St. Mary’s Basilica, texted his Christian fraternity group as soon as he heard of Pope Leo XIV’s election, encouraging his brothers to join him in attending Mass.
“I hit up the group chat, I was like, ‘Boys, we got to hit Mass. We got an American pope, Pope Leo XIV,’” Valdez recalled. “As a Hispanic American, him serving in Peru and then him having ties to the city of Chicago, I definitely feel a lot more connected to him.”
Helen Santana, also a parishioner at the basilica, described the election of Pope Leo XIV as a “joyous day.”
“The Holy Spirit definitely has chosen the right shepherd to lead His flock, and we’re just very happy, very overjoyed,” she said.
Through the Missionaries of Mary lay apostolate, Armando Ruiz had already been familiar with the new pope when he was known simply as Bishop Robert Prevost of Chiclayo, Peru. As a priest, the future Pope Leo XIV chose to be a missionary.
“I get why he was elected because in his position. He knew all of them because that’s his job as the head of the [Dicastery for] Bishops, and then they knew him, they knew what his substance was,” Ruiz said. “They knew he was a missionary, that he had left comfort for a more difficult life.”
