President Claudia Sheinbaum has extended her congratulations to Pope Leo XIV, who on Thursday became the global leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
“We congratulate his holiness Leo XIV, elected by the College of Cardinals as the head of state of Vatican City and spiritual leader of the Catholic Church. I confirm our humanist alignment in favor of peace and prosperity in the world,” she wrote on social media.
Felicitamos a su santidad León XIV, electo por el Colegio Cardenalicio como jefe del Estado de la Ciudad del Vaticano y líder espiritual de la Iglesia católica. Ratifico nuestra convergencia humanista a favor de la paz y la prosperidad del mundo.
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) May 8, 2025
Pope Leo XIV, or Papa León XIV as he is known in Spanish, was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in September 1955.
He is the first pope from the United States and the second from the Americas after Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio), an Argentine who passed away on April 21 after a 12-year papacy.
Prevost became a cardinal in 2023, and first served as a bishop between 2015 and 2023 in Chiclayo, Peru, a country in which he lived and served the Catholic Church for more than two decades. He became a Peruvian citizen in 2015 while retaining his U.S. citizenship, and is a fluent Spanish speaker.
Prevost was elected Pope on the second day of the papal conclave in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. A group of 133 cardinals voted, including two cardinals from Mexico: Archbishop of Mexico City Carlos Aguiar Retes and Archbishop of Guadalajara Francisco Robles Ortega.
Mexico has the second largest population of Catholics in the world after Brazil. Mexico’s 2020 census found that almost 78% of Mexicans identified as Catholics.
Mexican church bells ring in recognition of election of new pope
The bells of the Metropolitan Cathedral in the historic center of Mexico City and the Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe in the north of the capital were among those that rang after the election of Pope Leo XIV.
“We hope he has a great papacy, that the Holy Spirit guides him and accompanies him during his entire pontificate,” Orlando Pureco, a seminarian, told Telemundo at the Basilica in Mexico City.
Odilia García, a Catholic who was at the Basilica in Mexico City on Thursday, told UNO TV that she hoped that the new pope would “identify” with young people and encourage them to attend church.
A woman identified as María de Jesús spoke to Monterrey television station Info7 before going into the Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe to pray for Pope Leo XIV.
“I found out that he’s from Chicago, we don’t know him, but we hope that God … enlightens him in order to do things well,” she said.
“We just heard his message and he speaks Spanish very well,” said Jorge, another Mexican Catholic.
“I believes he knows the Latin American mentality and the problem of migration, which I believe will be one of the issues to deal with,” he told Info7.
Mexican Episcopal Conference and Archdiocese of Mexico celebrate election of the new pope
The Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), the official leadership body of the Catholic Church in Mexico, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico, both released statements celebrating the election of Pope Leo XIV.
“With great happiness we have received the news that after the fourth session of voting of the elector cardinals, the Cardinal Robert Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, has been elected Pope and will take the name Leo XIV, becoming the 267th successor of [St.] Peter,” the CEM said.
“… We invite all the pilgrim people of God in Mexico to offer prayers for the Holy Father and to be happy for the commencement of his papacy,” it said.
In its statement, the Archdiocese of Mexico said it received the news of the election of Pope Leo XIV with “profound happiness.”
En estos momentos en la Basílica de Guadalupe se está llevando a cabo Te Deum por el nombramiento del Nuevo Papa Robert Francis Prevost, León XIV. pic.twitter.com/xxcCYdDr63
— Basílica Guadalupe (@INBGuadalupe) May 8, 2025
“… In the name of our Archbishop, his eminence Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, and of this particular church, we express our profound communion with the new Bishop of Rome,” the Mexico City-based archdiocese said.
“Pope Leo XIV, you are not alone, count on us,” it added.
Prominent Mexicans react to the election of the new pope
In addition to President Sheinbaum, a number of other well-known Mexicans reacted to the news of the election of Pope Leo XIV.
Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez
“From Mexico we salute with respect the appointment of the Cardinal Robert Prevost as leader of the Catholic Church in the world. Your message of peace, your missionary history and your assumption as Leo XIV gives us hope.”
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada
“With great happiness I greet and congratulate Pope Leo XIV on the commencement of your papacy! From Mexico City we celebrate the beginning of a new papacy with hope and profound respect for your spiritual and political character. May your leadership be guided by compassion, dialogue and the commitment to social justice that so inspired your predecessor.”
Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega
“We rejoice with the whole Church, in the hope that the election of Pope Leo XIV brings us. He will confirm us in the faith as the Vicar of Christ and the successor of the Apostle Peter. We commend him to God so that He may enlighten him with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and so that he may be a faithful witness in the delicate task the Lord has entrusted to him.”
Nuevo León Governor Samuel García
The governor of Nuevo León pointed out that the new pope shares his name with the northern border state he governs.
“EL NUEVO LEÓN XIV, [The new Leo XIV],” he wrote on social media above a video of the pope speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Mexico News Daily
