Leo XIV was elected Supreme Pontiff in a brief conclave. Photo: Edgar Beltrán.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has joined Australian Catholics in congratulating His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on his election to the position of Supreme Pontiff.
Formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, Leo XIV is a Chicago-born member of the Augustinian Order and has served as a missionary in Peru, where he has earned dual citizenship.
Mr Albanese, himself a Catholic, has invited Leo XIV to Sydney for the 2028 International Eucharistic Congress, a large-scale open-air Mass where clergy and laymen gather to observe the Eucharist, a key Catholic sacrament.
There have been four papal visits to Australia: by Paul VI in 1970, Benedict in 2008 and John Paul II in 1986 and 1995. The new Pope has previously visited Australia as head of the Order of St Augustine.
The federal election campaign was brought to an abrupt halt when Pope Francis died on 21 April, Easter Monday, and both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader expressed mourning over his passing.
“The first Pope from the Southern Hemisphere was close to the people of Australia. For Australian Catholics, he was a devoted champion and loving father,” Mr Albanese said in a tearful address.
“He demonstrated his commitment to peace, equality and inclusion. Pope Francis’ love for humanity was powerful and profound.”
Mr Albanese expressed hope that the pontificate of Leo XIV would advance the cause of peace and social justice. The statement was in line with the sentiments already expressed by Leo XIV in his first Sunday address, in which he spoke of the wars in Ukraine and the Holy Land.
“I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people,” Leo XIV said, going on to call for a “true, just and lasting peace”.
“I am deeply pained by what is happening. Let the fighting cease immediately,” the Pope said of Gaza.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicates that about 20 per cent of Australians are Catholics.
