Local diocese offer best wishes and blessings to Pope Leo XIV

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WLNE) — The Diocese of both Providence and Fall River have both offered thoughts on the selection of Pope Leo XIV.

Msgr. Albert Kenney, the Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Providence, said that the seldction of Cardinal Robert Prevost was a “great joy:”

Gaudium 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.

Bishop Edgar da Cunha of the Diocese of Fall River congratulated Prevost:

On behalf of all the priests, deacons, religious, and faithful of the Diocese of Fall River, I offer my sincerest congratulations, prayers, and best wishes to the newly elected successor of St. Peter, Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, who chose the name of Pope Leo XIV. Most importantly, on this extraordinary and joyous occasion, I offer my prayers and those of the entire Diocese for the Holy Father as he sets out on the path chosen for him by the Lord and entrusted to him by the College of Cardinals. May God grant him the help and strength he will need as he undertakes the office of Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the Universal Church.

Bishop da Cunha added that he will hold a celebratory mass in honor of Pope Leo at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River on a May 16 at 12 p.m.