Join Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J., as they discuss current events and topics relevant to the local Church in Paterson and the global Catholic Church. Bishop Sweeney answers questions from listeners, interviews guests, and shares reflections and insights helpful for all striving to live a life of faith, hope, and love.
Habemus Papam: Bishop Kevin discusses our new Pope: Leo XIV
•Diocese Of Paterson•Season 1•Episode 87
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Bishop Kevin Sweeney shares his reaction to Pope Leo XIV's historic election. Our local church of Paterson rejoices with the Church throughout the world in the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as the Successor to the blessed Apostle Peter. Jai Agnish co-hosts.
Produced by Jai Agnish, Bishop Kevin Sweeney, and Cecile Pagliarulo for the Diocese of Paterson. Engineered by Cecile Pagliarulo and Jai Agnish, edited and theme song by Jai Agnish. Illustrations by Dennis Dalelio.
On Coffee with Kupke, we have a cup of coffee and sit down with diocesan archivist, Monsignor Raymond Kupke Ph.D., to delve into the history of Catholicism in the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. Hosted by Father Paul Manning and Msgr. Kupke. Listen to Coffee with Kupke wherever you get your podcasts, or watch it on the St. Paul Inside the Walls YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@stpaulinsidethewalls.
SPEAKER_01
Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey. Join us for conversations about our Catholic faith, and together let's strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love. I'm Jay Agnish. With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney.
SPEAKER_00
Bishop, good morning. Good morning, Jay. Avemos papum. Avemos papum. Yes. Thanks be to God. Sorry? Exciting time. Exciting time we're here.
SPEAKER_01
So this will be kind of a mini episode that we're sneaking in. So thanks for joining us. And Bishop, what do you how are you feeling right now? Great.
SPEAKER_00
Well, uh, thank God for the Holy Spirit, the gift of the church, and um the cardinal electors, they must have come to a consensus pretty quickly. Uh it was um very exciting yesterday. So many, everybody, so many that you talked to, so many were watching. I can only imagine the ratings that it got and waiting for the once the white smoke came out, uh, then the kind of a delay to get get uh the opening of the window, and uh so uh just a wonderful time for the church. But I think many people have read it by now or heard it, but I just want to go back to his first words. Um I think they tell us a lot about um who we can expect. Certainly he thanked Pope Francis and he mentioned Synodalli, those are important things. But his first words, peace be with you, um, and how much our world needs that peace. And then to quote him, after Peace be with you, dearest brothers and sisters, this was the first greeting of the risen Christ in this Easter season. Continue to quote the the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for the flock. Actually, this coming Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday. He continues, I too would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, reach your families and all people, wherever they are, and all the peoples of the world, all the earth. Peace be with you. This is the peace of the risen Christ, a disarming and humble and persevering peace. It comes from God, God who loves us all without any limits or conditions. He goes on, it you know it was brief, but uh if you haven't read it, I encourage you to just look Pope Leo the 14th speech and you can find it. Uh a son of St. Augustine, the second consecutive, I didn't even mention uh first Pope born in the United States, we should say that. And really, many say the first American Pope, but some would argue the second uh from the Americas, right? If you to consider North and South together the second Peruvian citizenship, right? Peruvian citizenship, yeah, 20 missionary bishop. Um uh my first parish, St. Nicholas of Talentine in Jamaica, was run for founded and run for 80 years by the Augustinians. Uh so I've had my brother went to law school at um uh Villanova University, and certainly for Villanova, it's a great day, even as a St. John's fan. Uh you gotta give it to Villanova. Um uh seeing some of his classmates from the class of 1977, Villanova, we've seen his who would have thought we would have a yearbook picture of one of our brother Pope. Uh so um so just uh and here in Patterson, uh one large Peruvian community, it's certainly a great joy for them. Um and again, the second religious order priest in consecutive, uh Pope Francis, the Jesuit, and as an Augustinian, beautifully quoting those famous words of Saint Augustine with you I am a Christian, for you I am a bishop. And I want to credit Bishop Robert Brennan of Brooklyn on his podcast yesterday. He said that using that quote from St. Augustine, two important things for Pope Leo solidarity, right? We're all Christians together. Solidarity, uh, unity. Um and then with you, I'm a Christian, for you I'm a bishop. Um humble service, right? It's not that he looked for it. Um this is who he's called to be now. Uh even this morning at the Mass, when his first Mass and preaching to the Cardinals, he talked about accepting the cross. You've given me this cross, and I yes, I take it up, but not by myself. We we walk together, and again, that synodal um uh message of continuing um the vision, I think, of Pope Francis.
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I just still love that uh message of peace, which really harkens back to Pope Francis's last. That's right, that's right, yeah.
SPEAKER_00
And uh I think the quote was Um We still hear his quiet but courageous voice. Uh so he couldn't say much on that last Sunday in St. Peter's Square, but he was had that courage to be out there. He wanted to be out there with his people and um And he celebrated Mass already. Yes. Uh I have a picture of him coming out. Beautiful.
SPEAKER_01
But uh but what else? Yeah, so the the Peruvian angle is pretty big. We had the uh media was swarming Patterson, Little Lima.
SPEAKER_00
And and you you've had some experience with uh the Peruvian uh faithful here in Patterson, really, um in Brooklyn and Queens, not as not as much with some other countries, but um but here in Patterson um they have a great devotion to el Señor de los Milagros, um and St. Rose of Lima, uh from Lima, Peru. Um uh uh some other saints as well, uh uh great people of faith and and a long indigenous uh uh tradition and and history of the native Peruvian people, um, but certainly embraced have embraced Christianity and the Catholic Church and Catholic faith, and um so uh so yeah, it's it's wonderful for for the Peruvian community as well.
SPEAKER_01
When you think of Pope Leo, the our new our new Pope, does he check off all the boxes that are that's a bit of used, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00
You know, some some would have said never an American, but then someone else said, well, uh Cardinal um uh uh um I even forget his last name. Uh um Perril? No, uh the the Pope Leo um uh Prevost. Previously, sorry. Uh Cardinal Prevost. Um they would have some described as the least American of the Americans, so maybe that's what helped to get him in. But uh uh speaks six languages. Right, right, right. Uh and uh um hats off to Chicago as well, right? I mean, uh here he's a bit of a baseball fan as well, uh apparently the White Sox and uh Um So um yeah, I mean uh uh checks off boxes, yes, uh, but I think um certainly the Holy Spirit um was working. And I think some have said that the the quick vote, quote on the fourth ballot, is a sign that the bishops were very united.
SPEAKER_01
Um so um Yeah, I mean what we were expecting based on uh Gerald O'Connell's your work uh with Inside the Vatican and American Media was that if it's an early vote, most likely it's gonna be one of the four.
SPEAKER_00
That's right, that's right, that's right. But uh hard to predict. And uh so um it's important to pray for him, and uh we'll be talking about him in the coming episodes and uh in in different forms. But um, you know, maybe I thought uh we could uh just close with the prayer, the prayer that he closed with um uh that beautiful or or Orbi at Orbi blessing the for the city and the world, Rome and the whole world. Um and he gave that yesterday and uh just before that blessing uh and after his words. It was the feast of Our Lady of Pompeii in in Rome. So uh uh he uh invoked the, as Pope Francis often did, the intercession of our blessed mother. And so um maybe we can just together say a hail Mary for our new holy father, Pope Leo.
SPEAKER_01
Let's do it.
SPEAKER_00
Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. In thanksgiving for our new Holy Father and asking the maternal care and intercession of Mary, our blessed mother, our Lady of Pompeii, and Mother of the Church, to guide and strengthen Pope Leo and lead him and all of us always closer to Jesus, her son, and our Lord. We ask Mary to help us as we pray. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
SPEAKER_01
Amen. All right, Bishop. Well, thanks for sharing that and thank you all for joining us. Please subscribe, comment, and leave a positive rating. Get to know us better by following Beyond the Beacon on Facebook or Instagram. Email questions and podcast topic ideas for the bishop to beyond at pattersondioces.org. Discover our other podcasts, Coffee with Cupkey and the Paul Street Journal. See you next time.
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