Pope Leo XIV, as he addressed his cardinals this morning, Saturday, May 10, in the Main Aula of the Synod Hall. Leo was chosen as Pope two days ago, on May 8, by the 133 assembled voting cardinals, becoming the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of St. Peter, and therefore the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Vicar of Christ in our world…
“God loves to communicate himself, not in the roar of thunder and earthquakes, but in the ‘whisper of a gentle breeze’ (1 Kings 19:12) or, as some translate it, in a ‘sound of sheer silence.’” –Pope Leo XIV, speaking this morning, Saturday, May 10, with the assembled College of Cardinals in his first meeting with them after becoming Pope on Thursday, May 8, following a Mass and homily yesterday, May 9, in the Sistine Chapel where he was elected
Letter #42, 2025, Saturday, May 10: First meeting
Two days ago, on Thursday, May 8, the papal conclave ended with white smoke at 6:07 in the evening, and an hour later, Pope Leo XIV stepped on on the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, the first Pope from the United States of America, having been elected on the 4th ballot, receiving, it is being reported in Italy, more than 100 votes.
Madagascar Cardinal Désiré Tsarahazana told reporters on Saturday that on the final ballot, Prevost had received “more” than 100 votes. That suggests an extraordinary margin, well beyond the two-thirds, or 89 votes, necessary to be elected. (link)
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The world has now spent two full days wondering who this new Pope is and what he intends to do.
How will he lead the Church?
Today he had his first meeting with his cardinals, both the 133 who elected him and another approximately 100 older than age 80 who had participated in the pre-conclave congregations, but who had note voted due to their age (older than 80).
Let us read the words he addressed to the assembled cardinals this morning, May 10.
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The Pope, in this address, explains why he took the name “Leo,” and why the challenges of our time echo some of the challenges facing Leo XIII (1878-1903) more than 100 years ago.
These challenges include threats to the human dignity of workers in a time of great technological change, including robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).
In essence, the Pope is saying that he will attempt to defend human dignity, the dignity of beings who have eternal souls, in a world which at times can obscure or tarnish or lose sight of this great dignity.
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“In these days,” the new Pope said, “We have seen the true grandeur of the Church, which is alive in the rich variety of her members in union with her one Head, Christ, ‘the shepherd and guardian’ (1 Peter 2:25) of our souls.”
–RM
First Meeting with Cardinals (link)
Address by Pope Leo XIV
May 10, 2025
This morning, the Holy Father Leo XIV met with the members of the College of Cardinals, to whom he delivered the following address, followed by a conversation that returned to some of the topics and proposals that emerged during the speeches in the General Congregations. The following is the text of the address delivered by the Holy Father:
Address of the Holy Father
Thank you very much, Your Eminence.
Before taking our seats, let us begin with a prayer, asking the Lord to continue to accompany this College, and above all the entire Church with this spirit, with enthusiasm, but also with deep faith.
Let us pray together in Latin.
Pater Noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.
[This translates to: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.”]
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.”
[This translates to: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”]
In the first part of this meeting, there will be a short talk with some reflections that I would like to share with you.
But then there will be a second part, a bit like the opportunity that many of you had asked for: a sort of dialogue with the College of Cardinals to hear what advice, suggestions, proposals, concrete things, which have already been discussed in the days leading up to the Conclave.
Dear Brother Cardinals,
I greet all of you with gratitude for this meeting and for the days that preceded it.
Days that were sad because of the loss of the Holy Father Pope Francis and demanding due to the responsibilities we confronted together, yet at the same time, in accordance with the promise Jesus himself made to us, days rich in grace and consolation in the Spirit (cf. Jn 14:25-27).
You, dear Cardinals, are the closest collaborators of the Pope.
This has proved a great comfort to me in accepting a yoke clearly far beyond my own limited powers, as it would be for any of us.
Your presence reminds me that the Lord, who has entrusted me with this mission, will not leave me alone in bearing its responsibility.
I know, before all else, that I can always count on his help, the help of the Lord, and through his grace and providence, on your closeness and that of so many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who believe in God, love the Church and support the Vicar of Christ by their prayers and good works.
I thank the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re – who deserves applause, at least once, if not more – whose wisdom, the fruit of a long life and many years of faithful service to the Apostolic See, has helped us greatly during this time.
I thank the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell – I believe he is present today – for the important and demanding work that he has done throughout the period of the Vacant See and for the convocation of the Conclave.
My thoughts also go to our brother Cardinals who, for reasons of health, were unable to be present, and I join you in embracing them in communion of affection and prayer.
At this moment, both sad and joyful, providentially bathed in the light of Easter, I would like all of us to see the passing of our beloved Holy Father Pope Francis and the Conclave as a paschal event, a stage in that long exodus through which the Lord continues to guide us towards the fullness of life.
In this perspective, we entrust to the “merciful Father and God of all consolation” (2 Cor 1:3) the soul of the late Pontiff and also the future of the Church.
Beginning with Saint Peter and up to myself, his unworthy Successor, the Pope has been a humble servant of God and of his brothers and sisters, and nothing more than this.
It has been clearly seen in the example of so many of my Predecessors, and most recently by Pope Francis himself, with his example of complete dedication to service and to sober simplicity of life, his abandonment to God throughout his ministry and his serene trust at the moment of his return to the Father’s house.
Let us take up this precious legacy and continue on the journey, inspired by the same hope that is born of faith.
It is the Risen Lord, present among us, who protects and guides the Church, and continues to fill her with hope through the love “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5).
It is up to us to be docile listeners to his voice and faithful ministers of his plan of salvation, mindful that God loves to communicate himself, not in the roar of thunder and earthquakes, but in the “whisper of a gentle breeze” (1 Kings 19:12) or, as some translate it, in a “sound of sheer silence.”
It is this essential and important encounter to which we must guide and accompany all the holy People of God entrusted to our care.
In these days, we have been able to see the beauty and feel the strength of this immense community, which with such affection and devotion has greeted and mourned its Shepherd, accompanying him with faith and prayer at the time of his final encounter with the Lord.
We have seen the true grandeur of the Church, which is alive in the rich variety of her members in union with her one Head, Christ, “the shepherd and guardian” (1 Peter 2:25) of our souls.
She is the womb from which we were born and at the same time the flock (cf. Jn 21:15-17), the field (cf. Mk 4:1-20) entrusted to us to protect and cultivate, to nourish with the sacraments of salvation and to make fruitful by our sowing the seed of the Word, so that, steadfast in one accord and enthusiastic in mission, she may press forward, like the Israelites in the desert, in the shadow of the cloud and in the light of God’s fire (cf. Ex 13:21).
In this regard, I would like us to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal Church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.
Pope Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, from which I would like to highlight several fundamental points: the return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation (cf. No. 11); the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community (cf. No. 9); growth in collegiality and synodality (cf. No. 33); attention to the sensus fidei (cf. Nos. 119-120), especially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety (cf. No. 123); loving care for the least and the rejected (cf. No. 53); courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities (cf. No. 84; Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1-2).
These are evangelical principles that have always inspired and guided the life and activity of God’s Family.
In these values, the merciful face of the Father has been revealed and continues to be revealed in his incarnate Son, the ultimate hope of all who sincerely seek truth, justice, peace and fraternity (cf. Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, 2; Francis, Spes Non Confundit, 3).
Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV.
There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution.
In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.
Dear brothers, I would like to conclude the first part of our meeting by making my own – and proposing to you as well – the hope that Saint Paul VI expressed at the inauguration of his Petrine Ministry in 1963:
“May it pass over the whole world like a great flame of faith and love kindled in all men and women of good will. May it shed light on paths of mutual cooperation and bless humanity abundantly, now and always, with the very strength of God, without whose help nothing is valid, nothing is holy” (Message Qui Fausto Die addressed to the entire human family, 22 June 1963).
May these also be our sentiments, to be translated into prayer and commitment, with the Lord’s help. Thank you!
—Leo XIV, First Address, in a Meeting with His Cardinals, May 10, 2025
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