Less than two years ago Sister Leticia Salazar, ODN, spent a week with Cardinal Robert Prevost, the man who would become Pope Leo XIV.
They were in the same study group at the first gathering of the Ordinary Synod of Bishops in Rome. They discussed topics of the Synod on Synodality and eventually worked together in the drafting of a summary document. He was “low-key and very approachable,” the diocesan Chancellor recalls.
“I was impressed with how intelligent and how humble he is,” said Sr. Leticia. “He never spoke more than he was assigned to speak, and he was attentive to everybody.”
The study group talked about issue of authority, clericalism and the process of “decision making vs. decision taking.” Cardinal Prevost seemed to embrace a consultative style of leadership that is at the heart of Synodality, Sr. Leticia said.
“The definition he has of authority is of service,” she said.
Like many, Bishop Alberto Rojas did not expect the election of a U.S. born pope. More than that, he never imagined that the new pope would be from Chicago, where Bishop Rojas spent his entire ministry as a priest and a bishop before coming to San Bernardino. When Bishop Rojas saw Cardinal Prevost appear on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8 as Pope Leo XIV it was a face he had encountered several times in his Chicago days.
“I met him more than once,” Bishop Rojas recalls. “He came to Chicago many times. He would do confirmations. He also came to visit his family.”
In a statement released the day of Pope Leo’s election, Bishop Rojas described him from their meetings as a “humble and approachable man of God.”
“He never comes across as someone who is arrogant or speaks a lot,” Bishop Rojas later reflected. “He’s prepared [to be the pope) with all the experiences he’s had. He’s a very simple person.”