By Christine Persichette and Paula Katinas
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate has just barely begun, but he has already had an impact on Melanie Robinson’s life.
Melanie, a junior at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, said the new pontiff has inspired her to go to church more often.
“I am Catholic, but it’s been a bit busy in my life, so I haven’t gone to church as often as I would like,” Melanie acknowledged. “But I feel like in a new era, it can be a start of me going back.”
Melanie was one of hundreds of people who came to the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Downtown Brooklyn for the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Mass of Thanksgiving and Prayer for Pope Leo XIV on May 19.
Sisters from the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará pray for the new pope.
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The Mass, which took place one day after the pontiff’s official installation at the Vatican following his May 8 election by the College of Cardinals, gave the faithful in the diocese the chance to join together to pray for him.
Bishop Robert Brennan said the elevation of Pope Leo XIV marks a fresh start for the Catholic Church.
“We’re celebrating the beginning of a new era,” he told the congregation.
As the Mass of Thanksgiving ends, Bishop Robert Brennan stops to greet students from Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School. He later said he was pleased to see young people in attendance.
Bishop Brennan urged the faithful to pray that Pope Leo XIV has a successful pontificate and to “listen to his offer to love and become this one family” in the Church.
Like Melanie and her Bishop Loughlin classmates, Bishop Brennan was in high school when a new pope ushered in a new era for the Church. In his case, it was St. John Paul II, who was elected pope in 1978, when the future Bishop of Brooklyn was a student at St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School on Long Island.
“I think back to those days and I realize that was the beginning of a whole new era in the Church because his leadership moved the Church forward for decades,” he told The Tablet.
Bishop Brennan predicted that the 69-year-old pontiff would also make a mark on the Church.
“He’s relatively young and I think he’s going to bring his own brand of leadership and challenge us in new ways,” Bishop Brennan said.
The people in the pews at St. James came to the Mass, which Bishop Brennan celebrated, with various wishes for the new pope.
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“I want less division in the Church and for him to be the true vicar of Christ,” said Lillian Gallardo, who prays for Pope Leo XIV alongside her husband Alex.
Alex Gallardo, a parishioner of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Brooklyn Heights, said he would like Pope Leo XIV to look to a previous Pope Leo for inspiration.
“I hope he follows the example of Pope Leo XIII. He did a lot of good for the church. He talked about helping people,” said Gallardo, who attended Mass with his wife, Lillian.
Gloria Romero, a Peruvian-American, said she hopes the new pontiff continues the spirit of his good works in her home country. Pope Leo XIV spent more than 20 years as a priest and bishop working with underprivileged people in Peru and now holds dual American-Peruvian citizenship.
“He did such good work in my country. He was for the people. I want him to do good work for everyone in the world,” said Romero, a parishioner of St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church in Jamaica.
Mali Joseph, a junior at Bishop Loughlin who sat next to Melanie in a front pew, had a simple wish for the new pope — “I just hope that he’s able to lead the church with love and dignity.”