Meeting the Now-Pope Leo XIV

In November of 2024, I had the pleasure of meeting then-Robert Cardinal Prevost  (pictured at right, third from left) — now Pope Leo XIV — while spending a semester abroad in Rome. 

I and the eleven seminary brothers of mine lived in the Irish College, located a block from the St. John Lateran Basilica. Every Wednesday night, the entire college community (made up of 36 international priests, twelve American Catholic Studies students, and the twelve of us) joined the rector for a community Mass, dinner, and presentation. The presentation would feature a variety of established speakers, once including the then-head of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Bishops, Cardinal Prevost.  

After dinner with him, we listened to a gripping presentation about how the dicastery is run, what the selection process for new bishops looks like, and what the then-Holy Father looked for in his apostolic brothers. (I will note, I remember the majority of the presentation, and I cannot say the same for every other presentation!) He fielded questions until we ran out, and then I snapped the above picture of the college staff with the Cardinal before heading off to bed.

Personally, I remember having to remind myself “this is a cardinal!” His demeanor to us was so genuinely humble, that it truly was easy to forget his high ecclesial status. 

Hearing the presentation in a Midwestern accent was also such a treat, and seeing how he was so present to us made the night stand out even then. But then, on May 8th around noon, watching a man I had met walk out as my Holy Father is a memory I know will ring precious for the rest of my life.

(Originally published in the June 29, 2025 parish bulletin)