Utah Catholic leaders praise new pope, call his election ‘God’s will’
May 8, 2025, 3:26 PM | Updated: 4:19 pm
The Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, the Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis, reacts to the election of Robert Prevost as pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (KSL TV)
(KSL TV)
SALT LAKE CITY — One emotion prevailed for the Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, the Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis, when he heard that a new pope had been elected on Thursday. It was easy and willing acceptance of the choice.
“It was God’s will,” Solis told those gathered at the Cathedral of the Madeleine not long after Robert Prevost became pope and took the name Leo XIV.
The newly elected Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, is seen for the first time from the Vatican balcony on May 8, 2025, in Vatican City, Vatican. White smoke was seen over the Vatican early this evening as the Conclave of Cardinals took just two days to elect Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who will be known as Pope Leo (Leone) XIV, as the 267th Supreme Pontiff after the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
“You know, a lot of people think that it is a political process,” he said. “You know, a lot of juggling, a lot of lobbying and so on. No, it was a different kind of election, where the cardinals are guided with sacred responsibility and to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to choose the right men for our church, not only for our church, but for the world.”
For Father Martin Diaz, a clergy member at the Cathedral, the choice of Pope Leo was emotional. And the name he chose is significant.
“He’s picked the name Leo the 14th,” Diaz told KSL NewsRadio. “And Leo the 13th was the one who penned the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which focused on social justice and really set the tone for the early part of the 20th century. So it seems like he’s going to move in the same direction that Pope Francis did with those people who are on the periphery of society, especially coming out of his experience in Peru and missionary diocese.”
An American pope
Pope Leo was born in Chicago but is also a citizen of Peru. Because he is an American, and because an American was never elected as pope, there were questions about whether Leo would ascend to the papacy.
When he did, Solis said the reason was clear.
“When the cardinals elected a pope that happens to be an American from America, it tells us about the universality, the universality of God’s love,” Solid said. “You know, God chooses a leader for the Catholic Church, not only to serve the Catholics, but to serve the entire world.”
Solis described Leo as a man with a lot of experience. He was most impressed with Leo’s work as a missionary in Peru.
“He served Latin America. He speaks Italian, English, his Spanish,” Solis said. ” … And he has been working in the Vatican for a couple of years in the various dicastery or offices.”
Father Diaz mirrored the idea that Pope Leo represents a global church.
“… not just for us, not just for Catholics,” Diaz said, “but for the world, a sign of God’s living presence All over the world.”
“You forget who you are,” said Utah bishop
The issue of immigration in America has been dominant since the Trump administration took office. The focus has been on ridding the country of those who entered illegally.
Will an American pope, charged with representing the marginalized, impact the conversation? Solis said the pope’s citizenship, no matter the nation, won’t necessarily change his focus.
“Being chosen as American pope doesn’t change his responsibility as the leader of the Catholic Church,” Solis said. “Whether you are American, you are Italian, you’re Asian, European … it doesn’t undermine your great responsibility. You forget who you are.”
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Then he used himself as an example.
“I am a Filipino, but I don’t serve as a Filipino Bishop. I serve as the servant of God elected to be the bishop here in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.”
But that is not to say that Leo will abandon an affinity or closeness to the marginalized.
“You know that is something that is not a responsibility of any particular pope, but for every person … The most important thing that we must remember is that when he represents the Catholic Church, the church stands for love, the universal love of God to all people, especially to the poor and the marginalized.”
What’s next for Pope Leo?
On Friday morning, Pope Leo will participate in a Mass in the Sistine Chapel. He will deliver a Sunday blessing from St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, reports CNN.
He is expected to speak with the media as well as other world leaders on Monday.
