(The Center Square) – The selection of Pope Leo XIV is “a great day for the world,” Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez said Thursday afternoon, a few hours after the College of Cardinals burned white smoke from the chimney in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to signal “Habemus Papam” – Latin for “We have a pope.”
As a Chicago native who served as a missionary and bishop in Peru, the new pontiff understands the needs of immigrants in North and South America and around the globe, Gomez told a handful of reporters at Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
“He has the experience of being born in the United States and being a bishop in Latino America. He really understands well what is the reality of the movement of people, the need for immigration all over the continent and all over the world because that’s an important teaching of the Catholic Church,” Gomez said during the brief news conference.
As Pope Francis taught, the world needs to be open to receiving immigrants, Gomez said in the sanctuary, where a thanksgiving Mass in honor of Pope Leo XIV, who before his selection was Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, will take place Friday.
“I was very encouraged by his words today,” Gomez said, referring to Leo XIV’s first speech as pope Thursday in the Vatican. “He talked about the need to be a missionary church and the need for everyone in the church to be a missionary, proclaiming the love of Jesus Christ.”
Leo XIV is the first pope to come from the U.S. When asked about that, Gomez said, “I think it’s a great blessing. It helps all of us to understand the church in the United States is alive … I think it’s very encouraging for all of us in the United States to see that one of our brothers, bishops, is the Holy Father.”
“I think he really understands the reality of the different cultures in the United States,” Gomez added. “Those cultures are a real blessing for our country.”
Earlier Thursday, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest archdiocese, celebrated the selection of the successor to Pope Francis with a large photo of Pope Leo XIV at lacatholics.org. In a post on X, the archdiocese wrote, “LA Catholics give thanks to God for His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.”
The selection of the first pope from the U.S. and North America surprised the archdiocese’s Father Juan Ochoa, who told CBS Los Angeles Thursday morning that he was still processing the news and realized people are rushing to learn about the pope. But he added everyone should give the new pontiff some time to let the world know who he is.
Elected officials Thursday joined the voices of clergy praising Pope Leo XIV.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom congratulated the pontiff in a statement Thursday.
“In his first address, he reminded us that God loves each and every person,” Newsom said.
“We trust that he will shepherd us through the best of the Church’s teachings: to respect human dignity, care for the poor, and wish for the common good of us all,” he said.
Elsewhere in the Southwest, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis congratulated the Roman Catholic Church on its selection of the first American pope.
“I look forward to continued strong collaboration between Colorado and the Catholic Church on helping vulnerable people in times of need,” Polis said in a statement. “It is my hope that the new Pope follows the path of the late Pope Francis of love and kindness for all who walk the earth.”
