TORONTO (CCN) — Canadians reflecting on Pope Leo XIV’s first 100 days say his fostering of friendship and community makes them hopeful about how he might continue to build the faith of the Church worldwide.
“I’ve been struck with some of his reflections, given his Augustinian background, drawing upon the writings of St. Augustine,” said Bishop William McGrattan of Calgary, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, of Pope Leo’s recent speeches.
Bishop McGrattan said he is especially drawn by the pope’s “theme of friendship” with Christ and “friendship that builds community.”
At the Catholic Women’s League of Canada national convention, which took place Aug. 10-13, delegates expressed hope that Leo can play a role in helping the Church reach out to young people, especially women.
Monica Santamarina is president general of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations, of which the Catholic Women’s League of Canada is a member.
Santamarina, a keynote speaker at the convention, told Canadian Catholic News the election of Pope Leo indicates continuity for the worldwide Church, supporting the process of synodality begun by Pope Francis and his emphasis on advocating for migrants and refugees, families and “motherhood and fatherhood.”
Citing the pope’s appearance before 800,000 Catholic young people for the Jubilee of Youth in Rome in late July and early August, Karen Rossiter of Prince Edward Island said, “I just hope he continues that magnetism, that exuberance that he draws [out of people] when he goes anywhere or does anything.”
Now it is up to the young people who met him to “spread the word” in his home countries.
Rossiter also said the league can help promote the work of Pope Leo.
“He’s our shepherd,” making the league’s members “kind of sheep, ‘leader-sheep,’ if you will,” she said of how the league’s members can play a role by leading in their own communities.
Other women felt similarly about the role the new pope can play.
Jennifer Van de Coevering of Ontario pointed toward Pope Leo’s liberal arts education and degree in canon law as reasons to think he has a “pretty good template of where he has a vision for the Church to go.”
“I think we are in good hands,” she added.
Others at the convention echoed those sentiments, noting Pope Leo’s support for synodality and his ability to engage young people and get them excited about their faith. His humility and background as a missionary also were on their minds.
In a separate interview, Cardinal Thomas Collins, retired archbishop of Toronto, described Pope Leo as “engaging and prayerful.”
The archbishop emeritus, who voted in the conclave that elected the pope, called him a “servant of the servants of God,” underscoring the humility that others say they have already witnessed in his leadership.
This article was written as part of the God in the City journalism program hosted by Canadian Catholic News.
