Portland faith leaders celebrate selection of first American pope

Portland-area Catholics and other faith leaders are celebrating the first-ever selection of an American to be the pope.

Robert Prevost, who was the leader of the Vatican’s office of bishops, was elected on Thursday and took the name Pope Leo XIV.

Shortly afterward, the University of Portland’s president, Robert D. Kelly, issued a statement on the selection.

“As Oregon’s Catholic university, the University of Portland joins the Church and the world in celebrating Pope Leo XIV, our new Holy Father, and we pray for him as the successor to Saint Peter and the Bishop of Rome.

“We at the University of Portland are especially heartened to see an American — and a graduate of American Catholic higher education — assume the Papacy.”

Related: Robert Prevost, first American pope in history of the Catholic Church, will take the name Leo XIV

Prevost, 69, is a member of the Augustinian religious order. He graduated from Villanova University in 1977.

Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland issued a statement Thursday, saying that the news of a newly elected was received “with great joy.”

“We lift him up in prayer as he takes on this tremendous responsibility,” Sample said. “May God grant him the grace to shepherd us according to the mind and heart of Christ. I entrust his ministry to the maternal care of Our Lady, Mary Mother of the Church.”

Rev. Chuck Currie, Pacific University chaplain emeritus and professor emeritus, said Thursday morning his prayers are with Pope Leo XIV and the people of the Catholic Church during the time of transition.

“May his papacy be one that seeks a more just world for all,” Currie said. “As a minister in the United Church of Christ concerned with interfaith and ecumenical relationships, I am hopeful that Leo will be a blessing to the Christian movement.”

Prevost was born and raised in Chicago. He lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop, and he holds dual citizenship of the United States and Peru.

Rev. John Donato, also with the University of Portland, said he grew up near Prevost in Chicago, but never got to meet him.

Donato said the speed at which the pope was elected, after just four votes, is a good sign.

“It’s a sign that the church is fully aware of the impact of Pope Francis and that the church and the world is poised for continuing a message of hope,” Donato said. ”The message of peace. That was the first words of Pope Leo XIV: ‘Peace be with you.’”

Standing outside St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Portland, Monsignor Gerard O’Connor said he never thought he’d see an American pope in his lifetime.

“I think most Americans will not be familiar with Cardinal Prevost, because he’s not really been on the American scene,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor added that he thought Leo was an interesting name to choose: St. Leo the Great, who was the pope in the fifth century, was known as a peacemaker, and the newly elected pope referenced peace multiple times in his initial speech.

“There’s a lot of tension in the world right now — I think that might be something that he’s thinking of at this time,” he said. “We need a lot more peace in this world.”

The late Pope Francis brought Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 to head the office of bishops, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic church, so Prevost had a prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals had.

Prevost is also seen by many as sympathetic to the plight of migrants and refugees around the world. Catholic Charities of Oregon spokesperson Ed Langlois said his organization has worked for decades to help and resettle refugees and that they’re hopeful that Leo XIV will share that vision.

“Pope Francis loved those folks (migrants), and I think Leo XIV loves them too and that’s music to our ears,” Langlois said. “We feel very supported by this choice.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.