By Priscilla Greear - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | “There has been white smoke! My trusted emcee has whispered in my ear” said Archbishop Thomas Wenski as the congregation applauded, at the end of the Mass he was celebrating May 8, 2025, for the election of the new Supreme Pontiff, at St. Martha Church in Miami Shores.

“Your prayers were very good!” added Archbishop Wenski, who celebrated the Mass for the Holy Spirit to guide the College of Cardinals to elect the Pope.

In a press conference immediately after the election of Cardinal Robert F. Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, Archbishop Wenski spoke about the first pontiff from the United States and his international faith journey to Church leadership, from Chicago to Peru to the Vatican. The press conference took place at the archdiocesan Pastoral Center.

“This is the second Pope of the Americas. And it’s very interesting that when he appeared in public, he didn’t say a word in English. He spoke in Italian and Spanish,” said Archbishop Wenski. “He opens a new perspective for all of us, a new perspective of the Church…We think that when the cardinals were deliberating...They elected the person that the Church needs.”

Pope Leo XIV, 69, was born and raised in Chicago and entered the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977, earning degrees in math and canon law. He served in Peru from 1988-98 as a missionary, professor, judicial vicar and formator. He returned to the U.S. to serve as Augustinian provincial prior of the Chicago province and later as prior general of the entire order. Returning to Peru, he served as bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2020 and afterwards also apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao, known for his pastoral heart, dedication to formation and care for the poor.  Pope Francis appointed him prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops and named him a cardinal in 2023.

Archbishop Wenski said that he has not met Pope Leo. But the new Pope likely knows Miami well -or at least the airport – as he served in Peru for two decades with American and Peruvian citizenship.

“Pope Leo XIV has had a lot of experience in Peru working in a very poor diocese so, he understands the conditions we are facing in the Americas not only with the pull factors that pull people to the United States, but also the push factors that force people to leave their homes because of a search for a future of hope,” said Archbishop Wenski.

“I think he will have a unique understanding of the challenges we face in this hemisphere with mass movements of people, which is not only a challenge of this hemisphere but also we see it in Africa and Asia.”

Archbishop Wenski believes that the American Pope will “certainly be able to speak the language of this administration” in addressing Catholic social teaching. He recalled how when Pope Francis delivered a joint address to Congress in 2015, he predicted that “the next Pope might have the opportunity to do something similar.”

“Speaking from an American context he can tell us we have nothing to fear of the stranger, because Jesus tells us that when we welcome the stranger, we welcome him. The migrant is perhaps a stranger but still a brother and sister and should be embraced.”

Regarding shortage of American vocations to priesthood, Archbishop Wenski said that Pope Leo’s and the U.S. Church’s challenge is to show young adults the value of permanent vocational commitment, since more adults are now unmarried than married. “The Church, bishops and priests all have to convince the young people that by making a permanent commitment we don’t lose our liberty…That commitment is what makes us truly free to become ourselves.”

The archbishop added that the archdiocese will eagerly welcome Pope Leo to Miami as the last papal visit was not since St. Pope John Paul in 1987. “He should come in March or April when we have nice weather. I’m sure he’ll be here in the United States at some point.”

The archbishop also noted the significance of Pope Leo’s name selection. Pope Leo I drove back Attila the Hun from attacking Rome in 452. “Perhaps in this world today we need somebody to hold back the barbarians.”

In addition, in 1891 Pope Leo XIII also wrote “Rerum Novarum,” a landmark encyclical which outlines the labor rights of working people. “He was the first Pope who really enunciated a series of teaching that came to be called Catholic social teaching,” said Archbishop Wenski. “I think the name choice says a lot about who this Pope will be.”