“The Congregation of Holy Cross rejoices with the worldwide Church on the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV,” wrote Br. Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C., Superior General, in a communique to the congregation’s membership on Friday, 9 May. “The Pope’s greeting with the words of the Risen Christ, ‘Peace be with you,’ was not only comforting, but also reassuring that all will be well, for Christ is with us.”

Br. Bednarczyk and other members of the congregation’s General Administration and Generalate community joined with tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square to pray and accompany the election of the Holy Father.

“It was extremely moving to witness Catholics and non-Catholics alike from around the globe unite in their uproarious cheers of joy and celebration. It was a powerful experience of the unity and hope that the Church can bring to the world. This microcosm of the world gathered in St. Peter’s Square, with all of its diversity, was testimony to the truth and hope-filled message of the gospel that peace, unity, and reconciliation are possible and within our reach after all,” said Br. Bednarczyk.

The Congregation of Holy Cross has several connections with Pope Leo XIV, especially from his time as a missionary in Peru, where Holy Cross has served since September 1963. Then Bishop Robert Prevost, OSA, served in the episcopacy in Peru alongside two Holy Cross bishops, Most Rev. Jorge Izaguirre, C.S.C., and Most Rev. Arthur Colgan, C.S.C., both of whom were ordained within one year of Bishop Prevost.

In his capacity as the Chair of the Peruvian Bishops Conference’s Commission for the Prevention of Abuse, Bishop Prevost came and spoke with the Holy Cross community in Peru at its annual assembly in February 2020. He also visited the El Señor de la Esperanza Parish that the District of Chile-Peru administers in San Juan de Lurigancho.

Then, on 13 March 2024, while serving as the Prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops, Cardinal Prevost came to the Holy Cross Generalate in Rome, Italy, for conversation and lunch. Br. Bednarczyk and the members of the Holy Cross Generalate were struck by how the cardinal entered easily into a fraternal dialogue with them and shared from his perspective as a religious serving in leadership within the Universal Church.

“I humbly request all members of the Congregation to celebrate Masses of Thanksgiving and to pray for our new Holy Father, a fellow religious, that the Holy Spirit will guide him with the gifts of wisdom, discernment, and understanding as he leads our Church and serves the world as Christ’s Vicar here on earth,” said Br. Bednarczyk.