The priest Fernando Morales, of the Legionaries of Christ, is the author of a hymn to Leo XIV composed with artificial intelligence just a few hours after the choice of Cardinal Robert Prevost as the successor of St. Peter and that has been viralized through social networks.
El videoclip Pastor to them León It has accumulated on YouTube about 90,000 visualizations since it was published on May 9, 2025, just a few hours after its author attended in the Plaza de San Pedro to the White Fumata and the first greeting of the Pontiff.
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Fr. Morales, who develops his apostolic work in the Holy Land, directs a digital evangelization project on YouTube called the Gospel from Zion, where every week offers catechesis on the Gospel of the next Sunday.
“Always try to do it from the original places of Holy Land, that is, where the event that appears in that Gospel was given,” explains the priest to ACI Press. Thus began this digital apostolate that has already fulfilled more than a decade.
“For 1 year, in addition to that, I compose music inspired by the Sunday Gospel too, so that my project is to be able to musicalize the 3 liturgical cycles of Sundays,” adds Fr. Morales.
This task is done with artificial intelligence, “so that, although I am not a professional musician, I write the lyrics and help me with that technology to compose,” he details. Thus, every week, in addition to a reflection, it publishes a song about the Gospel of the following Sunday.
“Pastoros, León”
“Providentially, before Sunday of the Good Shepherd we had the Gospel of John, Chapter 21, about the dialogue of Jesus with Pedro and the primacy of Peter, who precisely coincided with being at the gates of the conclave. Then I wanted to emphasize the primacy of Peter,” explains the priest, who wrote a song “without specifically thinking of Pope Leon.”
Thus, on Sunday, May 2, he published a video entitled on his channel A hymn for a new Popewith the song Host my lambs whose chorus says: “Apacious to my lambs / shepherd them Simon. / From today you will be a pastor. / You will take by my trails / and you will guide all the people / towards the lord’s fold / with truth and with love. / You confirm your brothers, / Have the keys in your hands, / Be a teacher and defender.”
Just six days later, Fr. Morales was in the Plaza de San Pedro: “The day already of the papal election, on Thursday afternoon, I arrived precisely to the square at the time of the White Fumata.”
After living in the first person the joy of knowing the choice of a new pontiff and knowing the chosen name, he realized that a version of his anthem could be made by personalizing it with the new Pope.
“Even musically Simón y León are almost the same sound, they are 100% compatible, it is enough for me to change Simon to León and there is a hymn in honor of the Pope,” shares the presbyter.
“That same afternoon I returned from the Basilica of the Plaza de San Pedro, to the place where I was staying in Rome, and right there to work, to make that change, to rebuild the song and to publish it again.”
To the changes in the letter, he added images of the White Fumata and the first appearance of the new Pontiff on the balcony of the central lodge of the Basilica of San Pedro.
Beyond the viralization of his song, Fr. Morales considers that “in general, the figure of Pope Leo XIV has been very welcome throughout the world and Holy Land is no exception.”
“The people already in the outset are almost unanimous in saying that they have caused them a lot of peace, a lot of hope the figure of the Pope. His equanimity, his peaceful image and goodness …
Nicolás de Cárdenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish and journalist’s husband and father with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specialized in socio -political and religious information. I have worked more than 10 years in defense of human rights and I have accreditations in journalism and comprehensive communication. Since July 2022, I am a correspondent for ACI Press and Ewtn News in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.