A Chaplain’s Thoughts: Peter and Leo
By Rev. James F. Quigley, O.P. ’60
Associate Chaplain, National Alumni Association
Christian women and men, Catholic believers, gather around the living Lord Jesus Christ. We are convinced that He loves us, cares for us, and is present to us individually and as a community in an intimate way. Jesus, the Son of God, is our savior and is there for us in good times and bad. Jesus Christ preached, healed, invited followers to community, and gathered his believers around Peter.
“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,” Jesus said to Peter, and we were born. Peter was charged to compellingly preach the resurrection and to be the point of unity to those who believed and followed the living Lord Jesus Christ. Peter would be the pastor, the teacher, the support, the protector. In Catholic tradition, the Pope is the successor to Peter. In the more than 2000 years of Church history, there have been 267 Popes. Some of them were pretty unworthy and lived scandalous lives. Some, especially in more recent history, have been canonized saints — Pius X, John XXIII, John Paul II, and Paul VI. On May 8, 2025, Pope Leo XIV was chosen to succeed Peter.
On that day in May, thousands stood in St. Peter’s Square waiting for white smoke; millions more watched on devices. And then the smoke came and with it a new face, a new voice, a new teacher, a new preacher, a new pope. Leo is his name; he is a friar, a missionary, a Chicago White Sox fan, a linguist, and an administrator from a Creole New Orleans heritage. The Roman, the Latin rite, and the Eastern Byzantine rite churches look to him as our point of unity, our universal pastor.
To be a Christian, a Catholic, to follow the living Lord Jesus Christ, is a great grace and privilege, a gift from God. How lucky we are. Let’s pray Leo assists us as we become even more “Christ-ified” and accept his invitation “to the marvelous adventure of following Christ.”
