My dear brothers and sisters, 

On Thursday, an outburst of joy marked the announcement that we have a new Pope.  This joy was known before we even knew the name or had glimpsed the kindly face of Pope Leo XIV.  It was the announcement that we had a Pope that was the source of this joy.  The man chosen was still unseen, and undoubtedly conscious as never before, of his human weakness and the immense weight of the mission suddenly entrusted to him as the 266th Successor of the Apostle Peter.  The new Pope would first lead us in prayer by greeting the Holy Mother of God and asking her to pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.  This struck me as a beautiful expression of our Catholic faith in the office of the Pope, whoever the man happens to be, and in the mission entrusted by Christ to Peter and his successors until the end of time.  It is in this faith that we welcome Pope Leo XIV.  For it was Christ who made Peter the rock of His Church, gave him the keys of the Kingdom, ⁽ⁱ⁾ called him to strengthen His brethren ⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ and to feed the sheep and lambs of His flock, as a witness to His love ^{(iii) (iv).}  

It seemed significant that before we caught sight of our new Pope, we saw first the Cross of Christ carried onto the balcony of Saint Peter’s.  For the Pope always stands before the world as a witness to Christ and to the victory of His Cross.  In his first words and greeting “Peace be with you all”, Pope Leo consciously echoed the words of the Risen Jesus and reminded us “We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us, and the world needs His light” for in His love we find the assurance that evil will not prevail.  

Following a previous papal election, I was asked at a petrol station whether I ‘liked’ the new Pope.  This is a strange question for a Catholic, akin to being asked whether you ‘like’ your father or mother!  The Pope is not a celebrity, a politician nor a public personality whose popularity may grow or fade.  The place of the Pope in the family of the Church is always seen in the light of faith, whoever the man happens to be, for he has taken the place of Peter for us.  

We pray for the Pope with a loyalty and affection which transcends all human ‘likes’ or ‘dislikes.’  We might even pray, as one faithful soul did, that the Pope gets a good night’s rest, conscious of the burden he bears.  It is with such faith, loyalty and human affection that we welcome Pope Leo XIV, our thirteenth Holy Father since his predecessor Pope Pius IX founded the Shrewsbury Diocese in 1851.   

A still wider perspective is offered in the Cathedral this Sunday, when our Greek Orthodox brothers and sisters bring an icon and relic of Pope Saint Sylvester I, in celebration of the Creed we profess each Sunday.  If you don’t recognise his name, this was the Pope at the time of the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, when the bishops first gathered to make the great profession of the Church’s faith that we echo together at Mass each Sunday.  It is the enduring mission of Peter and his successors to keep this faith and strengthen us in faith by serving as “the visible source and foundation of unity” ^(v).   In celebrating the 1700th Anniversary of the Creed of Nicea and remembering the saintly Pope of that distant time, we are reminded of the long continuity of the mission of Saint Peter, which continues with the fourteenth Pope Leo in our time. 

The World Day of Prayer for Vocations celebrated on this Good Shepherd Sunday, also leads us to remember that a young man, Robert Prevost, was first ready to dedicate his whole life to Christ in the Catholic Priesthood.  Today, as we pray for this young man as our Pope, let us also pray for many new and generous vocations to the Priesthood that are a source of joy for the whole Church.  It is because of Robert Prevost’s generous and faithful response to his calling, that we are now able to receive “with great joy” Pope Leo XIV as a holy father for us all.    

United with you in this joy and in this prayer,

+ Mark
Bishop of Shrewsbury

i Mt. 16: 18 -19
ii Lk. 22:32
iii Jn. 21: 15-17
iv Cf. Pope Saint John Paul II “The Ministry of Love” 17th October 1978
v Catechism of the Catholic Church No.552

My dear brothers and sisters,

On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s in Rome for the Jubilee Year 2025. The Church celebrates a jubilee every 25 years, drawing on the Biblical tradition of a year celebrated to manifest God’s mercy by freeing the imprisoned, writing off debts and re-setting relationships by a universal pardon ⁱ. The Church now commends such a moment of grace to us so that we might be moved to seek forgiveness for our sins; conversion of life; and reconciliation with our neighbour. Pope Francis writes: “Now the time has come for a new Jubilee, when once more the Holy Door is flung open to invite everyone to an intense experience of the love of God” ^ii.

Tens of millions will travel to Rome as pilgrims and in this Shrewsbury Diocese, I have established the Cathedral and Saint Joseph’s Eucharistic Shrine in Stockport as places for local pilgrimage. The Gospel tells of the pilgrimage made by Our Lady and Saint Joseph which became the joyful mystery of finding Jesus in the Templeⁱⁱⁱ. Today we reflect how our pilgrimage to Mass each Sunday – invites us ‘to seek and find anew’ the same Jesus present in the Mystery of the Eucharist. The Holy Father prays this year will be such a renewed encounter for us all “a moment of genuine personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the door of our salvation …”^iv.

Pope Francis has placed hope at the heart of this Jubilee celebration. He writes, may this be “A Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, hope in God. May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require, in the Church and in society, in our interpersonal relations, in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of creation” ^v. Christian hope is ultimately the hope of Heaven, for nothing less corresponds to the longing placed in the human heart. The Catechism explains: “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises …” ^vi. As Saint Augustine so memorably wrote of this hope: “you have made us for yourself, O Lord, our hearts are restless till they rest in you” ^vii.

This hope does not lead us to care less about our present lives or this passing world, rather it leads us to care more, much more! The fact that this world is the way to another, “the life of the world to come,” charges the whole of our lives with new purpose. Pope Francis gives practical examples of how this supernatural hope opens the door to see our lives and our world anew. This, he writes, enables us to untiringly seek peace in a world threatened by war and conflict; to be open to the gift of life in countries witnessing an alarming decline in the birthrate, since the desire of young people to give birth to new sons and daughters is born of hope; this same hope brings us closer to the sick and the elderly and helps us see in a new light the plight of the poor and most vulnerable, of prisoners, exiles and refugees. The hope we have received, insists Pope Francis, leads us to forgive others, for while forgiveness cannot change what happened in the past “it can allow us to change the future and live different lives, free of anger …” ^viii.

In inviting us to seek the Jubilee Indulgence for ourselves and for our loved ones departed, Pope Francis reminds us that we are never alone in our struggle to reach the goal of Heaven. We are united in the Mystical Body of Christ with all those striving on earth, with those being purified in purgatory and with all the saints who have reached everlasting happiness. With the help of their prayers and the indulgence of the whole Church, the Holy Father points to the hope of final purification which we call ‘purgatory’. For – in the face of the sins and repeated failures that you and I confess – we dare hope for that holiness which is necessary to share the joy of Heaven. As Pope Benedict beautifully wrote, before Christ’s gaze all falsehood will melt away as “the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God” ^ix.

Together in this pilgrimage, in the company of Our Lady, Saint Joseph and all the saints may we be such ‘pilgrims of hope.’ In time and for eternity, may we find His love and mercy.

+ Mark

Bishop of Shrewsbury

i  Cf. Leviticus 25: 8-55
ii Spes non Confundit No. 6
iii Cf. Lk. 2: 41-52
iv Spes non Confundit No. 1
v Spes non Confundit No. 24
vi Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1817
vii The Confessions of Saint Augustine’ 1,1
viii Spes non Confundit No. 23
ix Spe Salvi No. 47