‘God has given us a good shepherd’: Locals react to election of new pope

“He’s a bridge builder, a peace maker, a holy man,” the Rev. Joseph Verespy said, describing the new Pope Leo XIV during a homily at the Parish of St. Nicholas – St. Mary in downtown Wilkes-Barre. “God has given us a good shepherd. Thank you, God!”

“Amen!” the congregation responded during Friday’s noon-time Mass.

It had been less than 24 hours since word had begun to spread that white smoke at been spotted at the Vatican, and that the College of Cardinals had elected the first pope from the United States, and that he would take the name Leo, perhaps intentionally making a connection with the last pope of that name, Leo XIII, who was known as a defender of workers and champion of their rights.

Already, people were wishing the new pontiff well.

“I’m just praying that God is with him, and that he can bring us all together,” said Judy Williams Sarnoski of Wilkes-Barre, who arrived about half an hour before the Mass to pray the rosary for her spiritual intentions.

“I’m hoping he has a long and healthy life,” said Mary Pat Cosgrove Gill of Mountain Top, adding “He seems gracious.”

Maggie Martinez of Wilkes-Barre said she appreciated hearing the new pope, who spent years in Peru, speak in Spanish, which is her first language. She had greatly appreciated Pope Leo’s immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, for his emphasis on social justice, and believes Pope Leo XIV will continue that.

Others believe that as well, including at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, where college president the Rev. Thomas Looney predicts Pope Leo XIV will continue the legacy not only of Pope Francis but of Pope Leo XIII, who in May 1891 wrote an encyclical, or papal letter, called Rerum Novarum, championing the dignity and rights of workers.

“King’s has had a great tradition of sharing the Catholic social justice teachings of the church with its students,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “For many years Rerum Novarum was at the heart of our curriculum.”

“To raise up the common good of all people and the inherent dignity of every person … seeking to live out those fundamental teachings of the gospel” are goals the college seeks to instill in all its students, he said.

Now those students, and other people throughout the world, will have a new example to follow, of a pope who seems to be making a good impression.

“They say he’s a good listener, and he has a sense of humor,” the Rev. Verespy said. “And one of his friends said he’s not a show boater. And ‘peace’ was the first word he said. ‘Peace be with you.’ We’re all called to be peacemakers.”