Habemus Papam! We have a Pope!
The Cardinals gathered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel have elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th Pope, who took the name Pope Leo XIV.
Update from Rome: In a new article in @americamag, @ColleenDulle asks if the conclave will be a referendum on Synodality? And will the next pope continue to make the church more welcoming, listening and inclusive?
Pope Francis was the rare leader who made us want to be better people. In his humility and his gestures at once simple and profound – embracing the sick, ministering to the homeless, washing the feet of young prisoners – he shook us out of our complacency and reminded us that we are all bound by moral obligations to God and one another.
Today, Michelle and I mourn with everyone around the world – Catholic and non-Catholic alike – who drew strength and inspiration from the Pope’s example. May we continue to heed his call to “never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope.”
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, pray for us!
1. The Virgin Mary appeared to St. Catherine Labouré in France on November 27, 1830, under the title of the Immaculate Conception. The account states, "Her feet rested on a white globe…I saw rings on her fingers…Each ring was set with gems…the larger gems emitted greater rays and the smaller gems, smaller rays…I could not express…what I saw, the beauty and the brilliance of the dazzling rays.”
2. Our Lady asked the saint to create a medal to grant abundant graces to the faithful who wear it. “These rays symbolize the graces I shed upon those who ask for them. The gems from which rays do not fall are the graces for which souls forget to ask," she said to her.
3. Our Lady asked her that the medal be inscribed with the phrase: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,” which recalls the invocation of the Immaculate Conception. She also showed her how it should be inscribed: The words formed a semicircle beginning at the height of the Virgin's right hand, passing over her head and ending at the height of her left hand.
4. In addition, on the back of the “Miraculous Medal”, she asked her to include the letter “M”, with a cross rising from the middle. Below the inscription were the Heart of Jesus, surrounded by a crown of thorns, and the Heart of Mary, pierced by a sword. Around it, forming an outline, are twelve stars.