By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday congratulated Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost on his historic election as the first pope from the United States.
“On behalf of the Philippines, I congratulate Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States on his election as the successor of Pope Francis and leader of the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church,” Marcos said in a statement.
“As the new pontiff, who took the papal name Leo XIV, ascends the Chair of St. Peter and assumes the mantle of Bishop of Rome, I pray that he will continue to bring the Church closer to the poor and disadvantaged,” he added.
Prevost was elected Thursday as the 267th pontiff, after 133 cardinal electors chose him as the new leader of the Catholic Church.
Marcos said the Filipino people are also praying for Pope Leo XIV’s strength and good health, as he leads the Catholic faithful “with grace, wisdom and compassion.”
“May his life and ministry inspire us to persevere in our daily walk with our Lord Jesus Christ,” he said.
Now known as Pope Leo XIV, Prevost is the first Augustinian Pope and the second Roman Pontiff after Pope Francis from the Americas, according to Vatican News.
The new pope spent many years as a missionary in Peru before being elected head of the Augustinians for two consecutive terms.
On Oct. 4, 2023, the late Pope Francis appointed Prevost as a member of the Dicasteries for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches), for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the Eastern Churches, for the Clergy, for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for Culture and Education, for Legislative Texts, and of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State.
Prevost was promoted to the Order of Bishops, granting him the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano, on Feb. 6 this year. (PNA)
