On May 8th, 2025, Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, was elected. It was an historic election, one to which the whole world seemed to have a connection, a reason to join in the rejoicing. In the amazing way our Church does, amidst the great sorrow at the death of beloved Pope Francis, the mechanisms in place kicked into gear and immediately prepared us for the continuity of authority through the novemdiales, interregnum, and conclave, to the beginning of the 267th papacy.
There were tears and prayers, sadness and memories, worries and fears, hopes and visions. The great Barque that is the Church sailed on through it all, bringing us at last to the moment of the new Captain, then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. Some find the tides of change perilous and frightening. Others are excited to wonder what the Holy Spirit is up to. The people who filled the square on that beautiful May Thursday seemed to be mostly the latter. Faithful Catholics or not, they couldn’t help but get swept up in the emotion and the resurrection joy of this Easter gift from God: a new Papa.
We didn’t know how many times the chimney would puff black before white, but in one way or another we were all checking when we could, glued to our screens, or for those extremely fortunate, sitting vigil within the outstretched arms of St. Peter’s Square. With shouts of joy, tears of excitement, or calm assurance we greeted that white smoke and entered more seriously into happy prayers of thanksgiving and petition. Pondering the weight laid on one man’s shoulders, we indeed prayed in earnest. And then, a little over an hour later, we heard with our own ears the words, “habemus papam!” This news of great joy, which we had already assumed given the smoke and the bells, inflamed our hearts anew.
The news was shared: our new Holy Father is a 69-year-old Augustinian, born and raised in Chicago, educated throughout the Church, formed in his work in Peru, a true son of the Universal Church. Finally, the joy of a familiar papal name was shared, one that reverberates down through the centuries and is particularly relevant in our own time: Leo XIV. The man himself greeted the world with overwhelming emotion in his eyes, yet deepest serenity in his heart. The grace of office had fallen upon him; he was truly now our Papa Leo.
In times of intense prayer and times of dramatic change, we little Christians need the quiet, gentle encouragement of our Mother’s smile. And so our Lady has given us the gift of Signal Graces. According to the Dominican Friars Foundation of the Province of St. Joseph:
The benefits [of praying the rosary] were enumerated in a special way by a 15th century Dominican friar. According to the tradition, Alanus de Rupe received 15 promises to those who pray the Rosary devoutly from the Blessed Virgin Mary herself through a private revelation . . . “Those who faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.”
This gift from Blessed Mother is one I am frequently aware of benefitting from over the years since I began praying the rosary. What follows are what I piously believe are a little shower of Signal Graces Our Lady has given to us, her beloved children, to help us rejoice and look forward with confidence to what the Holy Spirit is doing in the election of Pope Leo XIV:
- Blessed Marie Catherine of St. Augustine, a Canadian Augustinian Sister has a May 8th feast day, the day the pope, also a North American Augustinian, was elected.
- May 8th is the memorial of Our Lady of Pompeii (as noted by Pope Leo in his first address to the Church from the Loggia). Our Lady of Pompeii is the devotion promulgated by soon-to-be-canonized Blessed Bartolo Longo following a miraculous vision he experienced in which he was instructed to spread devotion to the rosary.
- May 8th is the original memorial of Our Lady of Grace in the Augustinian order. Veneration by the Augustinians under this title goes back to the beginnings of the order and is included in their daily prayers.
- May 8th is the feast of the apparition of St. Michael the archangel at Monte Gargano, Italy, to St. Lorenzo. Pope Leo XIII, the current holy father’s namesake, wrote the St. Michael prayer in 1884 following a vision of the Church engaged in a fierce spiritual battle.
- On the day of Pope Francis’ funeral, April 26th, the Church honors Our Lady under the title, “Our Mother of Good Counsel.” The Augustinians have been the guardians of this holy and miraculous image since the 13th century. Pope Leo visited the sanctuary of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy, two days after his election, saying, “I wanted so much to come here in these first days of the new ministry that the Church has entrusted to me.” He also encouraged us, “As the Mother never abandons her children, you must also be faithful to the Mother.”
- The Sunday following the election was the Fourth Sunday of Easter, “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Traditionally we pray for both our shepherds and for vocations. But we are also encouraged to remember and be grateful for the gift we have in all our Church’s shepherds, including our brand new pope.
- On May 8th, 1945, Germany’s surrender was accepted, and “VE” Day (Victory in Europe) occurred. Pope Leo’s first words to us were, “Peace be with all of you.” His subsequent speeches and homilies have demonstrated that, “never again war” is going to be an important hope and work of his pontificate.
- The papal prayer intention for May 2025, written at the end of 2024 under the pontificate of Pope Francis is “that through work, each person might find fulfilment, families might be sustained in dignity, and that society might be humanized.” Pope Leo’s choice of name brings Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum to the forefront. This letter was written to help the Church and the world understand the “rights and duties of Capital and Labor.” At a time of great flux in this realm due to the spread of technology and the use of AI, a closer look at the issues surrounding human labor and of capital could not be more important or providential.
- The Inaugural Mass was on May 18th, the birthday of Pope St. John Paul II. Pope Leo has officially chosen to carry the same crozier that this holy predecessor carried.
There are surely more Signal Graces I am unaware of (please, let me know in the comments!). There is a more general Signal Grace that Pope Leo can be “claimed” by so many different communities: Americans, Peruvians, Canonists, Augustinians, Missionaries, Villanova alumni, mathematicians, and White Sox fans! His ancestry reveals ties to Creole New Orleans, Haiti, and Africa. The significance of race, enslavement, and immigration are in Pope Leo’s very DNA. There is a true universality in this first pope from the USA. This grace helps us all to feel included in the Holy Spirit’s new movement in the Church and in the world, and important to the work that the Holy Spirit is about at this moment in time.
When we are tempted to think in “political” terms about our Holy Father, when we find we disagree with him about something, when we think he “should be” focusing his efforts elsewhere, let us remember this shower of Signal Graces and trust that God knows better than we do what is best for us. Let us trust that Divine Providence has given us just the right shepherd for exactly this time in the Church and world history. Let us love him and pray for him. Let us pick up our rosaries, draw close to the Blessed Mother, and draw down graces for the indescribably difficult job Pope Leo has accepted and for our beloved Church.
Blessed Mother, thank you for showering the Church, and especially Pope Leo, with your heavenly kisses, these Signal Graces, to encourage us in this time of change. We trust your Spouse the Holy Spirit is about the good work of salvation through this continuing movement of grace in our Church. Please help us to continue in prayer, in trust, and in love, to follow Jesus by praying your Rosary for the Church and for Pope Leo XIV. We love you, Blessed Mother! Pray for us!
Photo by Nikolaj Mendoza on Unsplash