Jean Lowrie-Chin

We Catholics held our breath after we saw the white smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel where the conclave of cardinals met to elect a new Pope.

There was joyous celebration at the message, “Habemus Papam” (We have a Pope). We had been in mourning after the passing of the compassionate Pope Francis and prayed that the new pope would follow in his footsteps, calling for peace, engaging the downtrodden, and concerned about environmental endangerment.

As we read about the most popular candidates, we saw two favourites from the Philippines and Africa — Cardinals Luis Tagle and Peter Turkson of Ghana, and there were comments that this would bring hope to Catholics in the developing world. The name of Robert Prevost did not appear in the betting reports; yes, there was active betting on who would be the new pope. Even then Cardinal Prevost had said to his brother John a few days before the conclave, “Not going to happen.”

But scarcely had 24 hours of the conclave passed that there were two-thirds or more votes (we will never know the exact number) electing Prevost, Pope Leo XIV, and his life story was revealed to the world. We learned that this Chicago-born cardinal had answered his vocation to become a monk of the Order of Augustine. His degree in mathematics resulted in him being offered a place at Harvard. Instead, he opted for the priesthood and studied at the Pontifical College of St Thomas Aquinas where he received a doctorate in canon law.He was then sent by his superiors to serve in Peru, where he is reported to have become a fatherly figure to the people of the city of Chiclayo. He rode on horseback and carried bags of provisions on his back to the poorest in remote areas. He became so close to the people that he had said he would serve there for the rest of his life. Later he was named bishop of the city and became a naturalised citizen of Peru. However, his leadership qualities led to him being appointed the head of the Augustine Order, and he subsequently relocated to Rome. Most recently he was appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops at the Vatican, overseeing the selection of bishops.

It is no wonder then that on the social media platform
X he reposted statements criticising the current US actions against immigrants. He has also posted a comment opposing Vice-President JD Vance’s hierarchical approach to love. He expressed sorrow at the killing of George Floyd and, surprisingly, this was criticised by a functionary in the current US Government.My non-Catholic friend in Florida chuckled, “Jean, your new Pope is a browning!” Ancestral records reveal that Pope Leo’s mother was a Creole from Louisiana and her father was a Haitian born in Santo Domingo, while her husband was of French ancestry. This has also been on repeat on social media. Racists may describe him as a ‘one-drop’ man of colour.

However, this Pope, who is fluent in five languages and who turned his back on a comfortable life to share the discomfort of the poor, has risen above such labels. He is now the leader of 1.4-billion Catholics worldwide, numbers matched only by the populations of India and China.

Here in Jamaica, Catholics are about 1.5 per cent of the other Christian denominations. However, we have a large footprint in education and service to the needy. Jessie Ripoll’s Alpha and Mercy community, Father Holung’s Missionaries of the Poor, Monsignor Ramkissoon’s Mustard Seed Communities, Food For the Poor founded by Ferdie Mahfood, Sister Benedict Chung’s Laws Street Centre, Archbishop Dufour’s Good Shepherd Foundation all testify to our emphasis on service to ‘the least of our brothers [and sisters]’. Even strong anti-Catholics boast about their children’s achievements at Catholic schools. Although these institutions may have been founded by Catholics, there is no discrimination against students or beneficiaries of other religions, as we follow Jesus’s teachings that every human being is our neighbour.

Catholics have been outstanding business leaders and indeed represent a high percentage of those in the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica Hall of Fame. We have had, and still have, some strong voices in political leadership, including Alexander Bustamente, and are proud that National Hero Marcus Garvey and our famed poet Claude McKay became Catholic converts.

Last Sunday CCRP was hosted by the Bethel Baptist Church for our 15th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service. Afterwards, I thanked Reverend Rosalena Robinson for her warm welcome and told her I was a Catholic. She replied that it was the theology of the Catholic Church that she and fellow pastors had studied. The teachings of Christ and His first leaders prevail. May our new Pope Leo XIV be blessed as he preserves the legacy of our first Pope, St Peter.