Just hours after Pope Leo XIV stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome as the Catholic Church’s new pope, a Mass of Thanksgiving for the pontiff was held at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C.
“We come together to rejoice,” Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, the cathedral’s rector, said as the Mass began. About 125 people attended the Mass on a rainy late afternoon, including many young adults.
In his homily, the priest noted how earlier that day, Father Isaac Sagastume, a parochial vicar there, was in the sacristy preparing to celebrate the noon Mass, when an altar server shouted out “White smoke! White smoke” – the signal from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel that the cardinals meeting in the conclave had elected a new pope.
Father Sagastume in an interview after the Mass of Thanksgiving noted that as he celebrated the noontime Mass, he announced to the people that there was a new pope. “They were jumping with joy,” he said.
After the Mass, like many, he was surprised that the new pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, was Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, a native of Chicago who in recent years has served as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops at the Vatican that assists the pope in appointing the world’s bishops.
“I was shocked. I wasn’t expecting an American. God has his ways. It was beautiful to see,” Father Sagastume said, describing what it was like to witness the televised appearance of the new pope.
Msgr. Jameson echoed that point in his homily, after saying at the beginning of the Mass that as he wondered who the new pope might be, “I certainly did not expect an American. But there he was. Robert Prevost. Now he is standing before the world as Leo XIV.”
“We’ve always heard that God is filled with surprises. And we might say he had a big one for us today,” the cathedral’s rector said.
But in his homily, he added that as the new pope’s background became clear, the cardinals’ choice “seemed just so appropriate” of a man who checked so many boxes of “what you’re looking for” in a pontiff. Before heading the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, Cardinal Prevost had served as a missionary priest in Peru and later as a bishop there, and he had also served as the prior general of the Augustinians, leading that worldwide religious order.
Msgr. Jameson said the new pope’s life has been marked by a commitment to service, across cultures.
The cathedral’s rector said that in reflecting on the new pope, “I wanted continuity, because Francis had meant so much to me.”
During Pope Francis’s 2015 pastoral visit to Washington, the pontiff had joined a prayer service at St. Matthew’s Cathedral with the nation’s Catholic bishops.
At the Mass of Thanksgiving for Pope Leo XIV, Msgr. Jameson noted that he was using the chalice that Pope Francis had used when celebrating Mass during his visit to Washington.
Msgr. Jameson pointed out how the new pope in his first remarks to the world emphasized a message like Pope Francis often did, that “God loves us all. He loves us all.”
Reflecting on Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88, the cathedral’s rector noted that one of the late pope’s greatest legacies will be “the whole notion of synodality. The whole process of being willing to listen to people. To listen. To give everyone a chance to talk. And then to pray and reflect about what was said. And then to share what we had said – what everyone had said – in the form of getting a consensus, perhaps. And then, to put it into action. To have a mission.”
Pope Leo XIV in his first remarks said, “We want to be a synodal Church… a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close especially to those who suffer.”
Msgr. Jameson noted how, just as Pope Francis’s name seemed so appropriate to him, the new pope by the choice of his name is linked to Pope Leo XIII, who led the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903 and is famous for his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum (“Of New Things”), a landmark document that emphasized the rights and dignity of workers.
“You always studied about Leo XIII because of his commitment to social justice. To social justice – where we reach out to those in need. We reach out to the migrant. We reach out to the poor, to the refugee, and we embrace them all… We respect everyone around us,” the cathedral’s rector said.
Noting the continuity of the late pope and his successor, Msgr. Jameson said their names together, “Francis… Leo.”
As he concluded his homily at the Mass of Thanksgiving for Pope Leo XIV, the priest read an English translation of part of the new pope’s first message to the world, which he described as “his (Pope Leo’s) prayer as he begins his mission”:
“God loves us – all of us. Evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God. Without fear, united – hand in hand with God, and among ourselves – we will go forward. We are the disciples of Christ. Christ goes before us. And the world needs Him. The world needs His light. Humanity needs Him – like a bridge. A bridge to reach God and His love.”
Msgr. Jameson added, “And Leo will be our bridge. Because Leo will lead us. He will take us by the hand and take us to the Lord Jesus… Leo will lead us on our way.”
The Prayers of the Faithful included a prayer for Pope Leo as he begins his pontificate “with a shepherd’s heart,” and that “the universal Church (will) receive its new pastor with joy and a renewed sense of missionary zeal.”
Prayers were also offered for wartorn areas including Ukraine and Gaza, and that the Church will open its arms to those in need, including the poor, refugees and the unemployed.
Later as the Mass was ending, the cathedral’s rector encouraged people to continue to pray for the new pope, that he will be strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit.
After the Mass, people in interviews reflected on the new pope and their hopes for him.
Isabel Migoya, a native of Mexico who works for Arizona State University’s program in Washington, D.C., said, “As a Latin American, I am very excited he has a connection with the region.”
She hopes that Pope Leo XIV will be “a pope for every Catholic regardless of their religious inclination or how conservative or liberal Catholics are, that he really inspires Catholics to live the true value of our religion, love for God and love for our neighbor.”
Carlos Machado, a native of Nicaragua who works for the Embassy of Honduras, said that when he viewed the new pope appearing on St. Peter’s Balcony, “I thought I saw a very humble person.”
Noting how Pope Francis offered a message of hope and reached out to the vulnerable, Machado hopes Pope Leo will likewise offer a unifying message to the world. “It’s what I felt I saw today, and what I’m hoping for,” he said.
Marianella Villanueva, a native of Venezuela who works as a software project manager, said, “We were hoping they (the cardinals) would choose someone like Francis.”
Reflecting on the new pope, she said, “I hope he will lead the Catholic Church to be more inclusive and progressive,” especially regarding women and LGBTQ people.
Caitlin Van Wicklin, an aerospace engineer who works in Boston, said, “I think the Holy Spirit hopefully did its job. I’m hopeful for the Church and its young people.”
The tens of thousands of people who rushed to fill St. Peter’s Square were able to witness the appearance of the new pope in person, while those across the world got to see the first pope from the United States via livestreams or on television coverage.
Van Wicklin – who watched the new pope’s appearance on her smart phone while she was visiting Tysons Mall in Virginia – said she liked how the new pope offered a hopeful message and emphasized building bridges.
Pope Leo XIV in his first remarks said, “We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges” that is always open to receiving people with open arms – “everyone who needs our charity, our presence, dialogue and love.”
Link to livestream of Mass of Thanksgiving for Pope Leo XIV at Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington on May 8, 2025:
