By Nina Laubach, Goodfaith board member
M.Div ‘24, PhD Student, Princeton Theological Seminary
Amid the marbled, centuries old, grand stage of the Vatican, how can we make sense of this moment – one in which the world has welcomed Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a Chicago neighborhood boy of European and Creole descent, a Villanova Grad, a priest who found his way into ever wider leadership in the Church, and is now Pope Leo XIV? What does this mean for the laity worldwide? For our Goodfaith families and community?
My experience of being in St. Peter’s Square with the crowds, the anticipation of the black and white smoke, and then the final announcement and appearance of Pope Leo was exhilarating. Jubilant. I was glad I brought my binoculars because even though I was only three rows back from the press when the pope appeared on the balcony, he still felt really far away–tiny, in fact. The velvet banners and enormous Corinthian columns framed, dwarfed, this man who, seemingly overnight, was selected to be our Pope.
From my own faith journey and church experience, I know Church leadership and decisions can sometimes feel really far from us as regular, ordinary churchgoers. And all of the smoke, grandeur, and exquisitely painted vaulted ceilings can make church, and God, seem otherworldly; Yes, awe-inspiring, but also… distant and irrelevant to our own lives. This is my one Catholic complaint about a movie like Conclave – a great film, but with the imagery of the red robes and bejeweled altars, it only presents our Church and its leadership at a regal, royal, distance – when I know there is so much more to who we are as Church, and what it means to be Church. I felt this tangibly as I stood among the throngs of people from around the world in the square.
While there, I met:
Sister Neelima, a nun from Stuttgart who was born in northern India. She ministers and leads efforts to aid the elderly in an impoverished nursing facility. I met Elroy, a journalist out of the Philippines who writes stories about immigrant field worker experience abroad. I met religious ed teachers from the US who were on a pilgrimage across Europe, youth group leaders, choir directors, seminarians, tourists, artists, families on vacation….And I met many, like us, who are part of the laity, who love our Catholic faith, and who want to see our Church flourish.
My hope for this new day in the life of the Church is that we work together towards narrowing the distance between the leadership and the people. I hope that each one of us feels that the rituals, marble and golden chalice on the altar belong not just to our priests and those at the Vatican, but that we are daily and active participants in drawing the Gospel message from the Church traditions and external signs we have been given. Now is our invitation to respond both to the Grandeur of our Faith and the Humanity of our Faith. The Grandeur can draw us in and steep us in the magnificence of God, and the Humanity of our Faith – steeps us in the Love of God and God’s Love for Us.
Pope Francis, Pope Leo, and Goodfaith all have spoken about a Synodal Church. Synodality is a way of church governance and leadership that calls for active participation, communal discernment, and mutual respect at all levels of the Church. What gives me hope is that many in Church leadership, including Pope Francis and Pope Leo while he served as head of the Bishops, have been practicing this MUSCLE of synodality with their constituents – it is a practice steeped in dialogue and listening. Through synodal decision making, Francis added women for the first time in key leadership roles in the Vatican. Some say it was the practice of synodality as to why the conclave was able to swiftly discern Cardinal Prevost as Pope. Because when we see Church as the very place for listening and encounter, we diminish the threat of Singular Power or Supremacy as Leadership, and instead flow towards Solidarity and Unity as to the direction of how best to bend the Church. With 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, any bend could impact the world – whether towards or Good or Evil.
This moment is about how we are called to be the Body of Christ in the world. Being able to witness the continuation of the Papacy being given to an American boy who loved to play baseball, celebrated holidays with his grandparents, and was editor of his yearbook, becomes a sign and reminder that we are all called to be Servant to the Servants of God. The rituals, smoke, bell ringing, and the marble colonnades – let’s let it all, with joy and delight, draw us towards Worshipping God. But we cannot stop there. Let’s also show the world that we do not believe our Faith to be only a spectacle, global political jockeying, or only symbols. We have been given a Church that draws us in to worship a magnificent God… and by our very breath and being, whether we are as grand as pope, or as ordinary as next door neighbor, we have all been called to be moved, inspired, transformed, and to worship and share the Gospel with the whole of our lives. Past the columns, past our heavy church doors, and out into our classrooms and streets.
So now what? First, let’s Let Leo be Leo. For a little while, let’s be patient and give him our prayers and commitment that we want our Church to flourish as much as he does. Let’s let our humanity and Christ’s commandment to Love be what gives meaning to the smoke and the marble- and to all that we continue to build and celebrate as the People of God. When we show up with love, with a spirit of synodality and thanksgiving, we are worshipping as the Gospel states: Now is the son Glorified, Now is God Glorified in Him.
Habemus Papam! We have a Pope! AND Ecclesiam Habemus! We have a Church! Let us ALL go now and draw near to Christ, who is Love. Alleluia!
