In his first formal address to the College of Cardinals on Saturday May 10, newly elected Pope Leo XIV delivered a heartfelt message of gratitude, prayer, and pastoral direction, urging unity and continued fidelity to the Church's mission.
Before the session began, Pope Leo XIV invited the cardinals to pause in prayer, leading them in the Pater Noster and Ave Maria in Latin. He asked the Lord to “continue to accompany this College, and above all the entire Church, with enthusiasm and deep faith.”
The pope emphasized the importance of ongoing dialogue within the Church, noting that a portion of the meeting would be dedicated to hearing the reflections, proposals, and suggestions from the College of Cardinals—a format many had requested before the Conclave.
Reflecting on the recent passing of Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV invited the cardinals to see this moment as a paschal event, filled with the hope of Easter.
“We entrust to the merciful Father… the soul of the late Pontiff and also the future of the Church,” he said. He praised Pope Francis for his example of “complete dedication to service,” his simplicity of life, and his “serene trust” in God throughout his ministry, especially in his final moments.
Describing the cardinals as his closest collaborators, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude for their presence and support.
“Your presence reminds me that the Lord… will not leave me alone in bearing its responsibility,” he said, acknowledging the weight of the papal office as a yoke “clearly far beyond my own limited powers.”
He offered special thanks to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, for his wisdom and faithful service, and to Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, for his critical role during the Sede Vacante and the Conclave.
Pope Leo XIV described the papacy as humble service in continuity with Saint Peter and his predecessors. He called on the Church to remain faithful to its mission, being “docile listeners to His voice and faithful ministers of His plan of salvation.”
He highlighted the beauty and strength of the global Church, seen in the way the faithful worldwide had mourned and prayed for Pope Francis, demonstrating the unity and devotion of the People of God.
He reaffirmed the Church’s journey as one shaped by the Second Vatican Council and key pastoral principles outlined in Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation.
The Pope underlined the primacy of Christ in proclamation, the missionary conversion of the Christian community, synodality, popular piety, care for the marginalized, and open dialogue with the modern world—values, he said, that continue to reveal the merciful face of God.
Explaining his choice of papal name, the Holy Father said he took the name Leo XIV in honor of Pope Leo XIII, whose encyclical Rerum Novarum responded to the social upheaval of the first industrial revolution.
Today, he noted, the Church is called to offer her social teaching amid a new technological era marked by artificial intelligence and challenges to human dignity, justice, and labor.
Concluding his address, Pope Leo XIV echoed the words of Saint Paul VI, praying that “a great flame of faith and love” might “shed light on paths of mutual cooperation and bless humanity abundantly… with the very strength of God.”
He invited the cardinals to embrace these sentiments in prayer and commitment, reminding them that without God’s help, “nothing is valid, nothing is holy.”
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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