Pope Leo: Church must illuminate ‘dark nights of this world’

World leaders welcomed the election of Pope Leo XIV early Friday after the modest cardinal largely unknown to the world became the first US head of the 2,000-year institution.

In Manila, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Filipino people are praying for the pontiff’s strength and good health as he leads the Catholic faithful “with grace, wisdom and compassion.”

“As the new pontiff, who took the papal name Leo XIV, ascends the Chair of St. Peter and assumes the mantle of Bishop of Rome, I pray that he will continue to bring the Church closer to the poor and disadvantaged,” Mr. Marcos said.

“May his life and ministry inspire us to persevere in our daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ,” he added.

Senate President Francis Escudero called Leo a beacon of hope for a world divided by conflict and inequality.

“In a time when societies are fractured by discord and nations grapple with hostility, we look to him to help mend these divisions by championing the beauty of diversity,” Escudero said.

Speaker Martin Romualdez said the new pontiff’s election was a reaffirmation of the Catholic Church’s enduring mission, a source of renewed hope, and a sign of continuity in pastoral leadership for the faithful worldwide.

“His life of missionary service, unwavering commitment to the marginalized, and resolute pursuit of justice reflect the best of what the Catholic Church can offer in these times of uncertainty,” Romualdez said.

“Like Lolo Kiko, Pope Leo XIV carries the Gospel with humility and courage, entering the papacy with quiet strength. In an age of clamor, he reminds us that humility is power, and service is the highest form of leadership,” he added.

US President Donald Trump said: “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

“This is a historic day for the United States, and we will pray for him as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic Church and setting an example for so many, regardless of faith,” former US president Barack Obama said, congratulating the “fellow Chicagoan.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky added: “At this decisive moment for our country, we hope for the continued moral and spiritual support of the Vatican in Ukraine’s efforts to restore justice and achieve a lasting peace.”

China said it hoped to continue “constructive dialogue” with the Vatican.

“It is hoped that under the new pope’s leadership, the Vatican will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with China and conduct in-depth communication on international issues of mutual concern,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

During his first homily as pope on Friday, Leo XIV urged the Catholic Church to “desperately” counter a lack of faith.

In today’s world, Leo warned in his homily to assembled cardinals, there are places or situations where “it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied.”

He said the Church can be “an ark of salvation sailing through the waters of history and a beacon that illuminates the dark nights of this world.”

“There are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power or pleasure,” he said.

“Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed,” added the new pope, 69, standing at the Sistine Chapel altar with Michelangelo’s famed fresco of “The Last Judgment” behind him.

The former missionary echoed the sentiment of his predecessor Francis, who lamented people were turning to “technology, money, success, power, or pleasure.”

“A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society,” said Leo in Italian, wearing a white papal robe trimmed in gold as he addressed the seated white-robed cardinals.

In an apparent message to evangelical Christians, Pope Leo also warned that Jesus cannot be “reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman.”

“This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism,” he said.

In an unscripted introduction to his homily in English, he also evoked a need to overcome divisions within the Church, telling his fellow cardinals: “I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me.”

Many around the world were still digesting the choice of the man sometimes referred to in Rome as the “Latin Yankee” for his decades-long missions in Peru.

“A pope from the United States is almost more surprising than an Argentine and Jesuit pope,” such as Francis, wrote the Corriere della Sera daily. Francis was the first pope ever named from the Americas.

Tens of thousands of well-wishers had cheered Leo for his first appearance at the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica—despite many having no idea who the man before them was.

The American, a member of the Augustinian order who spent two decades in Peru and was only made a cardinal in 2023, had been on many Vatican watchers’ lists of potential popes, although he is far from being a globally recognized figure.

Over the coming days, including during Sunday’s midday Regina Coeli prayer and a meeting with journalists at the Vatican on Monday, his actions and words will be closely scrutinized.

In Peru, well-wishers including the bishop of El Callao outside Lima, Luis Alberto Barrera, saluted the Augustinian’s engagement in the Andean country.

“He showed his closeness and simplicity with the people,” Barrera told Agence France Presse (AFP), calling the new pope a “good missionary.”

In Chicago, locals celebrated his love of baseball, deep-dish pizza and his working-class South Side neighborhood in the United States’ third-largest city.

The Chicago Tribune called him “the pride and joy of every priest and nun” at his local parish, where he went to school and served as an altar boy, while a debate erupted over which of the city’s rival baseball teams Leo supported: the White Sox, his brother ultimately confirmed.

With the choice of Prevost, experts said, the cardinals had opted for continuity with the late Francis, a progressive who shook up the Church in his 12-year papacy.

Vatican watchers agreed that Prevost’s more soft-spoken style should help him as he faces turbulent times on the international stage, acting as a counterpoint to more divisive voices.

Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi told the Corriere della Sera that Leo was “a very simple person, intensely kind. He is in the vein of Francis, but less spiky.” With AFP