Catholic Community of Sierra Leone and the world Welcomes New Pop...

Since the death of Pope Francis on the 21st April 2025, their has been the battle of successorship and this involves issues within continental battles.

ABA News therefore gives the details:

VATICAN CITY — Habemus Papam! The world’s 1.4 billion Catholics have a new leader — Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, the first American-born pope.
Prevost, 69, is originally from Chicago and has chosen the papal name Leo XIV. He was most recently the head of the dicastery responsible for the appointment of bishops and the archbishop emeritus of Chiclayo, Peru.

“Peace be with all you,” Pope Leo XIV said from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in his first public words. He was met with joyful cheering from a crowd of around 150,000, according to Italian officials.

The decision to elect an American goes against conventional wisdom, which has held that the United States holds enough power in the world already. The new pope has spent much of his life outside the United States, so he is also considered to have a global perspective, and in fact he holds a Peruvian passport in addition to his American and Vatican ones.
Notably, Leo addressed his flock in Spanish and Italian but not in his native English.
Leo referred to his predecessor in his speech, recalling Francis' last Easter address the day before he died.

"We still hold in our ears that weak yet ever courageous voice of Pope Francis as he blessed Rome — the pope who blessed Rome, who gave his blessing to the world, to the whole world," he said.
"Help us as well — help one another — to build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, uniting everyone to be one single people always in peace."

President Donald Trump quickly congratulated him.
“It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. 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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte also sent the new pope good wishes.
"Naturalized Peruvian in 2015, he served our country with love and faith," she wrote on social media. "In his first message as pontiff, he remembered with emotion his time in Chiclayo and his closeness with Peru."

While he is being greeted with warm congratulations, Leo will inevitably face scrutiny for his handling of sexual abuse cases in Peru and as an Augustinian superior.

In his hometown, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson added some City of Big Shoulders swagger when he posted his congratulations on X. The new pope is from the city's South Side.
"Everything dope, including the Pope, comes from Chicago! Congratulations to the first American Pope Leo XIV! We hope to welcome you back home soon," Johnson wrote.
Another famous ex-Chicagoan, former President Barack Obama, also chimed in on X.

"Michelle and I send our congratulations to a fellow Chicagoan, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV," Obama wrote. "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."
Leo's election also prompted congratulations from the leaders of two countries locked in a bitter war, Ukraine and Russia.
"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," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a telegram, wrote: "I am confident that the constructive dialogue and cooperation established between Russia and the Vatican will continue to develop based on the Christian values that unite us."
At his alma mater, Villanova University, a party was underway. Leo graduated from there in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in math.
“Not in my wildest dreams” did he expect that a Villanova alumnus would become pope, the university’s President, the Rev. Peter Donohue, told Katy Tur on MSNBC. “I never expected it!”
Before Leo made his first appearance as pope, Dominique Mamberti, the senior cardinal deacon, declared from St. Peter’s balcony overlooking the square, “Habemus Papam” — Latin for “We have a pope.”
The crowds in St. Peter’s Square had erupted and bells pealed from the towering basilica when white smoke began billowing from a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, announcing the election of a new pope.
That marked the end of the deliberations of the 133 cardinal electors who had been sequestered inside the Sistine Chapel since Wednesday before they reached a two-thirds majority on a successor to Pope Francis, who died April 21.

Credit:

NBC News

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