With celebrations, messages and prayers, the Catholic Church in Latin America expressed its joy and hope before the beginning of Pope Leo XIV, who officially began his ministry on Sunday, May 18. From the Bravo River, in Mexico, passing through the Amazon, to the end of the world in Argentina, bishops, faithful and ecclesial communities joined in thanksgiving for the choice of the new successor of Peter.
Mexico: a lighthouse in the middle of the night
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
The Primada Archdiocese of Mexico, through the publishing house published This May 18 in his environment from the faith, he expressed his enthusiasm for the arrival of the new Pontiff. In the midst of a world reality marked by “violence, polarization and disenchantment, the figure of Leo XIV emerges as a sign of hope, as a lighthouse that goes on in the middle of the night,” he said.
The archdiocese also stressed that the wide world coverage of the event is a reflection that “the world is thirst for God”, which translates into “thirst for authentic leadership”; That is, from leaders who “do not seek power for power, but embody selfless service, especially towards the most vulnerable, towards the invisible, towards those who have no voice.” He also said, a “thirst for bright examples”, “thirst for spirituality” and “thirst for comfort” was expressed.
Nicaragua asks to pray the Holy Spirit
In Central America, Cardinal Leopoldo José Brenes Solórzano, archbishop of Managu A video store Posted today on your social networks. “Every night, every morning, look at the crucifix and raise our prayer so that he has docility towards the spirit (holy),” said the purple.
The Cardinal explained that it is the Holy Spirit who guides the Church, and who “will mark the pattern” to the Pope. Therefore, he urged to constantly ask for “that the strength never lacks, to indicate the path we must follow.”
Colombia: Faith in the midst of adversity
From Colombia, the Archbishop of Cali, Mons. Luis Fernando Rodríguez Velásquez, said in a May 18 video the “great joy” that he felt when he listened to the new Pope and perceive him nearby during the inaugural Mass of the pontificate.
He recalled that one of the main tasks of the pontiff “is to confirm to all in faith and encourage us to persevere in it, even in the midst of the adversities, problems, difficulties and challenges we can have”, challenges that, said, Leo XIV knows well.
He also said that “the legacy, the work, the mission of the Roman Pontiff is precisely to help us live in love”, which must translate into a call to “restore broken links, broken relationships, so that we grow in humanity.”
Argentina: In the hands of the Virgen de Luján
In Argentina, the Church entrusted the new pontificate to the maternal protection of the Virgen de Luján. In a video store, the president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference and Archbishop of Mendoza, Mons. Marcelo Colombo, defined this “new stage” for the Catholic Church as an opportunity to testify “with all the intensity of the first communities.”
To the Virgin,
Brazil
In Brazil, the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro celebrated a Thanksgiving Mass For the beginning of the pontificate on Saturday, May 17, in the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Sebastián. The celebration was chaired by Cardinal Orani João Tempesta and included the ordination of 12 new presbyters and the presentation of the new auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese.
In his homily, the cardinal pointed out the providential coincidence of the beginning of the pontificate with this moment of pastoral renewal for the archdiocese. He invited both the new priests and the people of God to be guided by the Holy Spirit and to be “more and more docile in the hands of the Spirit of God, so that evangelization and mission are carried out”, as Pope Leo XIV did – before Cardinal Robert Prevost – by accepting the call to become the successor of Peter.
The purple also encouraged the faithful to have an open heart “to the novelty of the Holy Spirit, in order to serve this people of God with generosity, availability and joy,” as the new Pontiff has demonstrated.
Diego López Colín
I am a graduate of journalism at the Carlos Septién García school with experience of religious institutional communication. Since 2016 I write for digital media and, since 2018, I report the most important news about the Catholic event in Mexico for the Ewtn news channel. ACI Press correspondent in Mexico since 2023.