“A Shepherd for Justice and Mercy:
Welcoming the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV”
9 May 2025
With joy and solemn hope, this note welcomes the election of Pope Leo XIV, a son of Saint Augustine and a member of the Augustinian Order, as the successor to the Chair of Saint Peter.
On behalf of the people, this note extend our heartfelt prayers and aspirations for his pontificate. We trust that Pope Leo XIV will carry forward the spirit of Pope Francis’ transformative leadership—a papacy marked by tenderness, mercy, and radical inclusion, especially toward the marginalized and the poor. As Pope Francis taught in Evangelii Gaudium, “The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel” (EG, 114).
Rooted in the Augustinian tradition, which calls us to seek truth in community and to place justice and charity above all personal ambitions, we pray that Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate may deepen the Church’s commitment to the pursuit of the common good. Saint Augustine once said, “Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.” In our age, where inequality and division continue to wound human dignity, we are in need of a pontiff who will proclaim boldly, like the prophets of old, the justice of God.
In the spirit of Pope Leo XIII, whose groundbreaking encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891) laid the foundation for modern Catholic social teaching, we hope that Pope Leo XIV will be a resolute advocate for the working class, for just labor, and for structures of equity that reflect the dignity of every human person. Pope Leo XIII reminded the world: “It is neither just nor human so to grind men down with excessive labor as to stupefy their minds and wear out their bodies” (Rerum Novarum, 42).
May the new Holy Father also draw inspiration from the words of the prophet Micah:
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
And from Christ Himself, who proclaimed in the synagogue:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor… to let the oppressed go free.” (Luke 4:18)
In this light, may the people pray that Pope Leo XIV will lead the Church toward a renewed embrace of the Gospel tenets of mercy, solidarity, and the inviolable dignity of all peoples. May he amplify the cries of the earth and the cries of the poor, as urged in Laudato Si’, and shepherd the faithful toward a deeper encounter with the God who is love.
May his pontificate be marked by peace, courage, and a prophetic voice, echoing the pastoral wisdom of the Church’s tradition and the cry of a world yearning for healing.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
Ad multos annos, Pope Leo XIV.
Viva Il Papa!