Volume XXIX, Number 11
May 8, 2025
Pope Leo XIV: Bud's Reaction
Beloved Friends,
I will have more comments in the coming months about our first American pope, Leo XIV, yet today I will share with you my initial thoughts. I knew little about him until the shocking announcement on the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica.
But First, PrayerPlease join me and tens of thousands, beginning in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...
Almighty and Everlasting Father, we invoke the maternal intercession of Immaculate Mary, Queen of the Universe, and sovereign consecrated queen of our own and our new pope's United States. Make into reality the dreams of her husband Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church and of Canada, for the salvation of the greatest number of souls worldwide.
Through Pope Leo XIV's reign as ruler of your visible Church on Earth, teacher of eternal truths, and protector of the Sacred Deposit of the Faith, unleash completely and manifest perfectly, O Heavenly Father, the Mother of God's beautiful plan for the triumph she promised at Fatima.
May the first pope Saint Peter—and all the saints who have occupied in his august chair—guide, guard, govern, and protect Pope Leo in perfect accord with the divine will of Out Lord Jesus Christ, for Whom he is vicar.
We humbly implore all the papal reformers, from kings to contemplatives to hidden obedient sons and daughters amongst the Triumphant, be the sure guides and divine light within his every prayer, thought, word, decision, and deed.
Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for Pope Leo.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for Pope Leo.
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for Pope Leo.
Saint Rose of Lima, pray for Pope Leo.
Saint Augustine, pray for Pope Leo.
Saint Andre Bessette, pray for Pope Leo.
Rhoda Wise of Ohio, Servant of God and Stigmatist,
pray for Pope Leo.
All Saints of the Western Hemisphere, pray for Pope Leo.
Saint Joan of Arc and all Saints of France, pray for Pope Leo.
Saint Pio and all Saints of Italy, pray for Pope Leo.
Saint Carlo Acutis, pray for Pope Leo.
Saint John Paul II, pray for Pope Leo.
Saint Joseph, guide, guard, govern, and protect Pope Leo.
O Saint Michael the Archangel, O Guardian Angel of the United States, and Operation True Cross Angel, protect Pope Leo's true friends and destroy his hidden enemies! Amen.
Robert Prevost was born on September 14th, 1955, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. This signifies something profound.
The Lion and the OneHis papal name, Leo, and his motto in illo uno unum ("In the one Christ we are one") is a hopeful sign that perhaps he is called to end the bizarre "guilty silence" and suppression of traditional infallible teaching and liturgical practice which have marked the past three generations.
Land of the FreeFor the first time since Our Lord ascended to heaven two thousand years ago, we have a modern native English speaker who grew up in the Catholic Church in America.
The One-Peter-Five GuyThe initial report from Aurelio Porfiri (from the utterly reliable OnePeterFive.com) who witnessed Pope Leo's first words, has some troubling information:
What I sense for now is that he doesn’t seem to be a Pope who immediately warms hearts. What I’m hearing from figures in the conservative Catholic world isn’t particularly hopeful. They consider Prevost a protégé of Cardinal Cupich of Chicago, who is certainly not a conservative; some mention that he was Father James Martin’s favored candidate; and his emphasis on synodality has made more than a few people raise their eyebrows.
Most Catholic of NationsFor whatever its flaws, the United States has become the most fruitful Catholic country in the world in terms of evangelization, Eucharistic adoration, the promotion of the Holy Rosary, embrace of the Latin Mass, and our rapidly expanding millions of active, devout Catholics.
You, as benefactors the Mary Foundation, have played a key, hidden role in bringing this forth into salvation history.
He Grew up Where We Grew UpThis means our new pope will be unlikely to view the United States as a backwater of deplorables and wealthy reactionaries. He will know—or can easily find out—where our strongest pockets of orthodoxy and zeal exist, for better or for worse.
Speaks Perfect SpanishHe is a missionary who only spent a few years in America after ordination. I will need to ponder the significance of his three-decade tenure in Peru, but he will be embraced by our brother and sister Catholics in Central and South America as an adopted son. Directly or indirectly, this also means he has experienced the corrupt repercussions of American "deep state" activity in those regions.
The Math MajorI find it fascinating that as a teenager, Robert majored in Mathematics at Villanova. This indicates he has an attraction to order. At age 69—just seven years older than I am—he could have a long reign.
Does he love his native country as much as we do?
Christ Crucified and AmericaThere is surely a mystical connection here with our Operation True Cross pilgrimage (which began on his birthday) to secure a divine intervention to save our nation and our bishop's subsequent cruciform Eucharistic Procession and Congress.
I am not sure what the connection is, or will be revealed to be, of course, but I trust Our Lady might just decide show it to me. Please ask the Holy Spirit to let you know what it is.
From Wikipedia:
Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) ...born in Chicago, Prevost spent the early part of his career there working for the Augustinians. He served in Peru from 1985 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1998 as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher and administrator.
He was made a cardinal in 2023. He served as Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru from 2015 to 2023, and was general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013.
In 2023, Pope Francis appointed Prevost as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, a prominent role that elevated his profile as a potential papal candidate.
Early LifeRobert Prevost was born in Chicago on September 14, 1955, the son of a French father Louis Marius Prevost and an Italian mother Mildred Martinez.
...earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics at Villanova University in 1977.
Watching His Actions
Leo possesses the resume of a competent, well-regarded leader. The speed of his elevation means something, too. Hopefully, he was the choice of the conservative and moderate cardinals.
I'm sure others more qualified than me will dig into what happened when he was the young head of the Augustinians, and later, bishop in Peru.
Even so, after the past twelve years, and a lifetime of enduring feckless, if not corrupt and perverse leadership here in the states, I am determined to be wary of "optics" and mere words.
I will patiently await Pope Leo's actions, appointments, and actual decisions regarding solving the grave problems in the worldwide Church, especially those germane to my homeland.
I am tentatively hopeful the elevation of this pope is an answer to our many years of prayers.
Thank you for being a part of our work and my life. Until next time...
Be a saint.
Love everyone.
Face facts.
Fear nothing.
With Saint Cletus,
Early Pope and Martyr,
Bud Macfarlane
Broken Down Diabetic
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