American bishops marked the first anniversary of the election of Pope Leo XIV by remembering the moment they learned he had been elected, and describing their reactions in a video message.
“As we watched white smoke billow from the chimneys at the Vatican, the last thing any of us watching on TV in Chicago were thinking about was that a native of Chicago would be elected Holy Father,” Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago Robert Lombardo said in a statement. 7th May Video Message Pope Leo XIV’s first anniversary as Pope is being celebrated.
The message also included testimony from Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois; Bishop Ronald Hicks of New York; Cardinal Blaise Cupich of Chicago; Bishop Paul Etienne of Seattle; Archbishop Michel Rozanski of St. Louis; Auxiliary Bishop Christopher Cook of Philadelphia; Bishop Douglas Lucia of Syracuse, New York; Bishop Robert McClory of Gary, Indiana; and Bishop Michael Barber, SJ, of Oakland, California.
Several bishops recalled their shock at learning that the new Pope was an American.
Rozanski said, “When I heard about the election of Pope Leo, I couldn’t believe it. I really had to do a double-take because the conventional wisdom has been that there will never be a Pope from the United States.”
“I remember my reaction to his election was one of surprise because everyone said, ‘Well, this could never be American,'” Lucia said. “So when his name was announced, I was actually at the diocesan admin meeting and everyone said, ‘Who is that?’ And I say, ‘He’s an American.'”
McClory described his reaction as “a tremendous excitement and joy” and echoed his brother the bishop, saying: “I never thought in my lifetime that we would have a Pope from the United States. I just didn’t think it was a possibility.”
Bishop William Byrne of Springfield, Massachusetts remembers “flying home” from the grocery store when he heard the news that a new Pope had been elected, and he was “very excited” when he looked it up on his computer to see the results.
“Being from Chicago, we also feel a double sense of pride,” Cupich said. “After all, we like to say that Chicago produced a Pope, and we’re very proud of that.”
Leo was elected as the 267th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church on May 8, 2025.
