Pope Leo XIV is a former missionary. His background is not lost on Father Eduardo Pruneda, an associate pastor at the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura in Ventura.
"He was working as a missionary in Peru for 20 years," said Pruneda. "He worked in Chicago, so he knows the big communities in our country, but then also for the world."
"And that's very important because that's Pope Francis—the outreach—and it's not just a mission. It's being in Peru, one of the poorest countries in Latin America, and being there, knowing the suffering of the people, walking with the people, which is necessary, as we cannot, as a church, understand the suffering if you don't live that and walk with the people."
The priest is tangibly excited by the announcement of the Chicago-born leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics being the first North American elected to the role.
"It's an excitement for the future of the Church. The Pope is a figure that serves an influence, not just in the religion, but a political part. So for me, it's exciting to see this," he said.
Pruneda shares his hopes for the Pope’s leadership—that it’s one of unity.
"That gives me hope for right now, where we're living in the church and in society, because it has an impact," he said. "I think we have to take the opportunity that the world's eyes are on us Catholics to give the good example of love, unity, and inclusion that the church in the world needs."
"I was reading about Leo the First, and he's trying to bring unity in the Church from the East and the West. And that's a beautiful sign, because that's what we need in the world: Unity. Knowing what's going on in the Middle East, and the need for calling for hope and unity in our society, our country right now. It's also the division, and that need for coming to unity. I see him (the Pope) in the middle and that's why we are called to be as Christians, in the middle, to unite."
Pruneda continued. "People think like we have to be extremes, like progressive, or traditional. But we should be in the middle. Because in the middle, you can encounter people in the left and the right. That's important. That's my hope, that he stands in the middle. Everybody feels welcome in our church, but also in the society. We can replicate that. That we encounter people in the far and the left, and we can have a conversation," he said.
That's a sentiment shared by those visiting the gardens of the Ventura mission Thursday as they reacted to the news.
"I hope he continues on with the legacy of Pope Francis. That's my main hope," one person told KCLU.
The 267th Pope was named after two days of voting inside the Sistine Chapel by 133 cardinals from 70 countries. The white smoke that heralds a new pope billowed forth at 9:10 a.m. Pacific Time on Thursday.
