By Penny Wiegert, Editor
It was a Friday evening, April 25, that Bishop David Malloy asked the faithful, his brother priests, and deacons to gather in the evening to pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis who died April 21.
Two short weeks later, again on a Friday evening May 9, the bishop gathered the faithful, the priests and deacons to pray again, this time for a new pope elected May 8.
One Mass celebrated in sorrow and one in joy.
Volunteers, singers and musicians quickly gathered at the Cathedral of St. Peter to celebrate the first man from the Augustinian Order of Priests and the first man from the United State to be elected the successor of St. Peter: Pope Leo XIV.
Bishop Malloy began and ended his homily with thanks for all those who made the Masses possible and especially those who made time to attend and gather to pray.
“We are able to stop and think about many things,” Bishop Malloy began.
Bishop Malloy’s homily connected the death of one pope and the election of another to the Gospels of the last few weeks about Peter’s denial, Peter’s love for God, the command of God for Peter to build the Church and tend His sheep. And the bishop noted the significance of gathering in the cathedral named for St. Peter, the first pope.
“How this reminds us once again of the alternating cycles of life and death in our faith,” he said.
The bishop reminded those gathered that it was just two weeks before that so many gathered in the Cathedral of St. Peter, again on a Friday night, to pray for the repose of Pope Francis. At that time, the bishop said we felt “both the sorrow of death but also the consolation of the faith.”
“This week we celebrate new life following death. It’s new life for the Church. We are celebrating that Christ in the Gospels told Peter that he was the rock and upon this rock Christ would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. …
“The Church has recognized over the centuries that it is God’s will that the role of Peter was not simply a one-time moment but that mission of Peter, the keys that were entrusted to Peter continue. Pope Leo is the 267th (pope) and successor and in that it is life for the Church itself.
“Our sorrow of the last weeks is replaced by the joy of the last few days. We’ve seen this week that life renewed.”
Bishop Malloy said that “the service, writings and teachings of the pope are a reminder to us that God is coming through this humanity to us in our own time.
“… When that man steps out on the balcony he has been entrusted with a singular task … a task of faith — a task that in all honesty is for the Church and the whole world. For all of the saints and sinners to be a faithful witness: that is his task. Not to change but to be a witness time and again. And he is to be a source for us of unity, and not only for us but, as we have seen time and again, for the whole world.
Recognizing the added significance of Pope Leo XIV being an Illinois native, Bishop Malloy said, “And who would have thought that a man from Illinois would step out on that balcony. Most of didn’t think a man from the United States would ever be in that position” let alone from “our own culture, our own accent, our roots in the Midwest and in Illinois itself.”
While the fact that the pope is from our own state may be a source of pride, Bishop Malloy said there is more for us and for all.
“What we want is a man who is holy and strong and is faithful and sacrificing, and who will give us the love and encouragement and the reminders that we need. But as we live with this papacy for many years,” Bishop Malloy said, we will still remind ourselves that God is working through a man who is “so close to us coming from even our own state. What a gift from God!”
