Editor: Father James, we have a new pope! Tell us your first impressions of Pope Leo XIV.

Father Misko: As we gathered here at the Pastoral Center, awaiting the news after the white smoke began to emerge from the chimney, we watched as Pope Leo XIV walked out to the loggia, and we were profoundly overjoyed to have a new Holy Father. To have a shepherd chosen by the cardinals by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is an incredibly affirming moment for Catholics assuring us that God will never leave us to face our challenges alone. Then, after the initial joy, we realized that Pope Leo is from Chicago! What an honor for all Americans.

During these first few weeks of his pontificate, I think many of us have been filled with continued anticipation to hear what he has to say and see what he will do as the new pope. He continues to talk about peace and unity in Christ. I also think, because he is an Augustinian, he is very much interested in helping us to find peace within ourselves. St. Augustine was famous for saying, “Lord, you made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Editor: What do you think of our Holy Father’s name choice?

Father Misko: Pope Leo has already talked a little about artificial intelligence (AI) in some of his early exhortations and homilies, about how there is a need to protect the dignity of the human person within the world of AI. This is interesting because Pope Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum, an encyclical about the dignity of the worker in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. It could be that Pope Leo XIV sees this technological revolution as marking the need to protect the dignity of the human person so immersed in technology.

Pope Leo’s Augustinian formation seems to be informing him here, as he leads us to find rest in a restless world and to realize our human dignity in a world where technology can easily objectify the human person. Technology must remain at the service of humanity, and not humanity at the service of technology.

Editor: As you said, this is our first U.S.-born Holy Father. What do you think that means for the church in the U.S.?

Father Misko: I very much appreciate what several of the U.S. cardinals said after the election, which was that Pope Leo XIV was not elected because he was American. He was elected because he was the right man for the mission. The Holy Father is quite experienced in all parts of the world. Obviously, he grew up in Chicago, and he was formed in Chicago with the Augustinians. He was a missionary in Peru, an archbishop in Peru for over 20 years. He has worked all over the world as a missionary, and of course, for the last several years, he has been living in Rome. So, he really is a man of the world.

However, there's no denying that he knows the American experience. It can't be anything other than helpful and hopeful for us to have a Holy Father who understands the lived Catholic experience in the U.S. Being that he was recently the Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, certainly he has a pulse on our own diocese, and I am sure he knows we are without a bishop. I trust that he will be very good to us when the time comes to send us our new bishop.

Editor: What is your prayer for Pope Leo XIV?

Father Misko: My prayer is that our Holy Father continues to help us grapple with the challenges of being modern people in a modern world, of being able to recognize our sacred dignity as being created in the image and likeness of God, while not shying away from the importance of technology. I pray that Pope Leo XIV be guided by the Holy Spirit to sanctify the church in unity, teach with truth and mercy, and lead us to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by what we say and by how we live. Amen.