JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
WHY DO CATHOLICS PRAY TO MARY INSTEAD OF STRAIGHT TO GOD JESUS.
A FALSE PROPHET COMES FROM THE VATICAN ALSO AT THIS TIME.
ISAIAH 23:15-17
15
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten
seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of
seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16 Take an harp, go
about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody,
sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it shall
come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit
Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with
all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE
70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE
WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND
CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET
ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR
TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.
REVELATION 13:11-18
11
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN
POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he
spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR
FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast
before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell
therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE
WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE
NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those
miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to
them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the
beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had
power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the
beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the
image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth
all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a
mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
REVELATION 17:1-18
1
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and
talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the
judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:(VATICAN)
2
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN
POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with
the wine of her fornication.(THATS PEDOPHELIA-FORNICATION IS SINGLES
HAVING SEX OUT SIDE OF MARRIAGE)(AND SINCE PREISTS CAN NOT MARRY IN THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS FALSE CHURCH GOES AGAINST THE
BIBLE.THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BECOMES A HOMOSEXUAL HAVEN OF PEDOPHILIAS
FACTORY).
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the
wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of
names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the
woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN
COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN)
and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup
in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:(THE
VATICAN GOES AGAINST A PRIEST MARRING A WOMAN-LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS-AND
WHATS AN ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD-HOMOSEXUALITY AND PEDOPHILIA JUST LIKE
THIS SCRIPTURE SAYS-FORNICATION IS THE SINGLE HOMOSEXUAL PRIESTS IN THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVING UNMARRIED FORNICATION OR SEX WITH SINGLES-IN THIS
CASE ITS SEX WITH CHILDREN OR PEDOPHILIA)
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the
blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great
admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou
marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that
carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast
that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless
pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall
wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is
not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven
heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS
BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are
fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one
is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet
come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED
ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE
EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL
HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR
TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE
EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION
TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE
THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD
OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE
EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS
CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received
no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them:
for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him
are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The
waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE
WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the
beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her
desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(GOD
HIMSELF GIVES THE OK TO NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in
their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom
unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.(VATICAN)
HOW THE FALSE POPE IS ELECTED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj3Qnr_30Z4
POPE FRANCIS SISTER (PEDOPHILIA WAY WORSE THEN THOUGHT) (CARDINAL MATEO TERESCO-THE NEXT COVERUP POPE OF PEDOPHILIA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usFshfmBPmY
FALSE POPE LEO 14TH 2012 INTERVIEW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXVkJ5TQi1s
POPE 14TH WILL BE WORSE THAN FRANCIS.
https://banned.video/watch?id=681cf97a22a2c8ae0e09b5d0
KNOW ALL ABOUT THIS FALSE POPE LEO 14TH
https://israndjer.blogspot.com/2025/05/defector-pope-watch-final-pope-in.html
THIS POPE WAY MORE LIBERAL THAN FRANCIS
https://israndjer.blogspot.com/2025/05/pope-leo-14th-will-be-woke-way-worse.html
LIKE
FRANCIS LEO 14TH WORSHIPPS MARY.WHEN SHE WAS AND IS JUST ANOTHER MOTHER
WHO HAD 4 OR 5 OTHER CHILDREN BESIDES JESUS. THESE CATHOLICS THINK THEY
GOTTA PRAY TO MARY. TO GET TO JESUS. INSTEAD OF GOING DIRECTLY TO GOD
JESUS THE SON.THEW THE FATHER. THIS IS HOW DELUDED THE CATHOLICS
ARE.THEY CAN RUB THEM BEADS AND PRAY TO MARY TILL THEIR BLUE AND PURPLE
IN THE FACE. AND THEY WON'T GET ANY PRAYERS ANSWERED. MARY WAS JUST A
MOTHER. SO GOOD LUCK CATHOLICS. THE ONLY WAY YOU GET PRAYERS ANSWERED IS
WHEN YOU PRAY TO THE FATHER IN JESUS' (GOD) NAME. ITS NOT MARY. ITS
JESUS WHO DIED FOR OUR SINS WHO WAS AND IS OUR JEWISH SAVIOR, NOT MARY
SHES ONLY A JEWISH MOTHER. MARY IS JEWISH SO WHY DO THE CATHOLICS THINK
THEIR THE ISRAELIS OF TODAY. ONCE AGAIN ITS CALLED DELUDED REPLACEMENT
THEOLOGY HOGWASH. THE PROMISES OF THE BIBLE TO ISRAEL IN THE BIBLE. ARE
FOR THE ISRAELIS AND JEWS IN ISRAEL. SURE NOT A CULT THAT WORSHIPS MARY
AS GOD. AND USES TRADITIONS TO DELUDE ALL THE CATHOLICS INTO BELIEVEING
LIES LIKE YOU PRAY TO THE MOTHER INSTEAD OG GOD HIMSELF. AND ALSO THE
FALSE TEACHING OF PURGATORY. THE SECOND YOU DIE YOU GO TO HEAVEN OR
HELL. NOT PRAY FOR THE DEAD PERSON TO GET OUTTA HELL IF HE WENT THEIR.
ONCE AGAIN THE CATHOLIC CULT RELIES ON WORKS TO GET TO HEAVEN. MY BIBLE
SAYS ONCE AGAIN. I'M NOT SAVED BY PRAYING TO MARY FALSELY. PRAYING AND
PAYING FOR THE DEAD. OR BY WORKS. MY GOD AND ONLY GOD JESUS SAYS ITS A
FREE GIFT OF GOD. AND BECAUSE THE CATHOLIC CULT GOES AGAINST THE BIBLE
AND RELIES ON TRADITION OF CELIBACY. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS FILLED WITH
HOMOSEXUAL-PEDOPHILE PREISTS HAVING FORNICATION OR SEX OUTSIDE OF
MARRIAGE AMOUNG SINGLES. OR PREISTS ABUSING THE AVERAGE CATHOLIC CHURCH
CHILD BY FORCING THEMSELVES ON THE CHILD.OR DECIEVING THE CHILD WITH
LIES TO FULFILL HIS LUST OR REPRIBATE MIND FANTASIES.
Why pray to Mary and the Saints when I can go straight to Jesus?
When
a person is baptized, they become part of the mystical body of Christ. A
Christian is connected spiritually to other Christians through their
baptism. Since Christianity is a communal faith, we are supposed to help
each other spiritually and physically. The Bible tells Christians to
pray for one another in James 5:16, “Therefore confess your sins to one
another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of
a righteous man has great power in its effects.” Praying for one
another is powerful, and the prayers of a righteous person are very
powerful. What human, other than the God-Man Jesus, is more righteous
than Mary? She is full of grace (Luke 1:28) and blessed among women
(Luke 1:42). Mary is our mother. Jesus extended her motherhood to all
humanity when He was on the Cross (John 19:26-27). What good mother
isn’t concerned with her children? Mary loves her children and prays for
them.Mary, along with the other Saints, have died and gone to Heaven,
but that doesn’t mean they aren’t concerned with the Church on Earth.
The Church consists of the Christians on Earth (Church militant),
Christians in purgatory (Church suffering), and the Christians in Heaven
(Church Triumphant). Christians on Earth may be physically separated
from Christians in Heaven, but we are all connected supernaturally in
the Mystical Body of Christ. Christ has conquered death; what is more
powerful? Death or the blood of Christ? To say that death has cut off
the Christians in Heaven from the Christians on Earth assumes that death
is more powerful than the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.The book of
Revelation supports that humans and angels in Heaven are conscious of
and pray for Christians on Earth. Revelation 8:3-4 reads, “And another
angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given
much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the
golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense rose with
the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.” The
above text clearly states that Angels in Heaven are offering up the
prayers of the Saints. Who are they praying for? This scene from the
book of Revelation takes place in Heaven; the angels and saints aren’t
praying for the people in Heaven, they don’t need prayers, they have
been saved and are with God in Heaven. They aren’t praying for people in
hell because they are eternally damned; their prayers are useless. They
must be praying for the Church on Earth and Purgatory. This would imply
that angels and saints in Heaven hear the prayers of the Church on
Earth and intercede on their behalf. The Catholic Church, guided by the
Holy Spirit, has always known and taught this from its start in 33 AD by
Jesus Christ.Many times, non-Catholic Christians accuse Catholics of
praying to the Saints and not going to Jesus. Catholics have always gone
to Jesus. Every day at Mass, millions of Catholics recite the Lord’s
Prayer. If one listens closely during Mass, everything is asked:
“Through Christ our Lord.” Practicing Catholics have the most intimate
relationship with Jesus Christ, greater than any Protestant Christian
group. By Christ’s command, we actually consume his Body, Blood, Soul,
and Divinity at every Mass. Christ literally becomes part of us and
strengthens us on our road to holiness and salvation. Protestants have
communion services every so often, but the bread and wine (or grape
juice) are just a symbol of Christ’s Body and Blood. The Catholic and
Orthodox Churches are the only Churches that experience the real
presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. What greater personal
relationship can one have with Jesus than partaking in his Body, Blood,
Soul, and Divinity? Just like Catholics who go directly to Jesus but
also ask Mary and the Saints to pray for us, Protestants themselves ask
for the prayers of their pastors, ministers, elders, family, and
friends. There is nothing wrong with this; James 5:16 says, “The prayer
of a righteous man has great power in its effects,” and we are told to
“pray for one another.” With this in mind, how greater are the prayers
of Mary and Saints, particularly Mary, who is most blessed among women?
All Christians should have an intimate relationship with Jesus but also
be united with the other members of the Body of Christ in prayer. As
said earlier, death temporally separates Christians physically, but
death cannot separate those who have been baptized in Christ’s life,
death, and resurrection and live in Christ Jesus.
Pope Leo XIV’s
Prayer of Consecration to Our Lady of Fátima-‘The Pope is devoted to the
Virgin Mary.’Walter Sánchez Silva/ACI Prensa/CNA World-May 13, 2025
Pope
Leo XIV, when he was bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, offered a special prayer
of consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary before the pilgrim statue of
Our Lady of Fátima, whose feast day the Catholic Church celebrates on
May 13.On Jan. 7, 2019, after having requested a year earlier that the
Marian image be brought to Chiclayo from the Fátima shrine in Portugal,
then-Bishop Robert Prevost offered a special Mass in St. Mary’s
Cathedral that was attended by a large number of faithful.“My memory of
the January 2019 consecration is that the bishop [Prevost] agreed to it
very easily, out of love for the Virgin. I remember that we priests were
on a retreat and we asked him for permission so that we too could
receive the image and consecrate ourselves, and he agreed,” said Father
Jorge Millán Cotrina, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Chiclayo, in a
statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.“It was
very moving because here in Chiclayo, the people are very Marian. The
city of Chiclayo’s original name is Our Lady of the Valleys of Chiclayo,
which the Franciscans gave it in the 16th century,” he continued.“The
Pope is devoted to the Virgin Mary, but not under any specific title of
hers, although it may be the Mother of Good Counsel, whom he recently
went to venerate in Italy.” However, he also celebrated Masses for “Our
Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Lourdes, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel,”
due to the great Marian devotion of the people of Chiclayo.Regarding the
election of Cardinal Prevost as the successor of St. Peter, Father
Millán said that when he saw the announcement, he experienced “a
tremendous, indescribable emotion” and a cause of “great joy, great
peace, and a soul open to hope, because there are always little things
that are confusing, and knowing that he will be there gives us a certain
hope that things will be better.”“Not because of him, but because of
his personality, because of his docility to the things of God, to the
Holy Spirit,” he clarified.The priest also commented that when he heard
Pope Leo XIV mention his “beloved diocese of Chiclayo” from the balcony
of St. Peter’s Basilica, “many of us were brought to tears.”Below is the
prayer of consecration that Pope Leo XIV recited before the pilgrim
statue of Our Lady of Fátima when he was bishop of Chiclayo:“I, Robert
Francis Prevost Martínez, make this day an act of consecration,
repentance, [asking] forgiveness, and reparation to God for all the
transgressions that have occurred in Peru.“I do this before God and for
those who have sought to eliminate the Catholic faith in times past and
present. I ask for forgiveness, and through this act of [seeking]
forgiveness, we want this consecration to be a reason to encourage us to
seek in Peru the conversion and unity we so very much need, and that
only comes from God.“Through this act of repentance, [seeking]
forgiveness, and reparation to God, I renew the consecration of Peru,
united with the dioceses, parishes, priests, deacons, seminarians, men
and women religious, and laypeople to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.“I wish, in this way, to consecrate and
surrender to God all that we are and all that we have, and receive in
turn his everlasting love and protection for every person and every
family in Peru.“And let us say together, Hail Mary …”This story was
first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It
has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Is Pope Leo XIV Leaving
Us Clues About Where He’s Headed? COMMENTARY: In his first days as Pope,
Leo XIV has signaled continuity over rupture, rooted his vision in
patristic tradition, and issued a bold call to young people: ‘Do not be
afraid.’Pope Leo XIV is seen on giant screens as he delivers his first
Regina Caeli address Sunday from the main central loggia of St Peter's
basilica in the Vatican.Father Raymond J. de Souza Commentaries-May 13,
2025
Pope Leo XIV’s first few days have been met with widespread
enthusiasm and excitement, not least because the Holy Father himself is
confident, at ease, and seems to enjoy being pope. He told the cardinals
they had asked him “to carry that cross and to be blessed with that
mission.” At least for now, the blessing is more apparent than the
cross. After the initial impressions of the Holy Father’s first days —
and the global reaction — there are now second impressions that suggest
where Pope Leo might be headed.Citation Signals-In Rome, the citations
matter. Pope Leo XIV has lavished praise on his immediate predecessor,
as all popes are expected to do. Pope St. John Paul did so in October
1978, even though Blessed John Paul I had been pope for only 33 days.
Yet Leo XIV has also carefully cited Pope Benedict XVI, as well as John
Paul II and St. Paul VI. In taking the name Leo — in honor of Pope Leo
XIII, he said — he reaches even farther back into Catholic history. For
those who might set one pontificate against another, Pope Leo is
encouraging the opposite, to see continuity across them. And he seems
intent on reminding Catholics that the Church did not begin with Vatican
II in the 1960s, even as he remains committed to its vision.The
Augustinian order, to which Pope Leo belongs, has an academic specialty
in the Church Fathers (“patristics”), fitting for “son[s] of St.
Augustine,” as the Holy Father called himself at his first appearance on
the balcony. The Augustinian university in Rome specializes in
patristics.Pope Leo XIV cited St. Augustine in his address and blessing
urbi et orbi (“to the city and the world”), St. Ignatius of Antioch in
his homily at his Mass with the cardinals, and St. Gregory the Great in
his first Regina Caeli address. It would not be a surprise if he
instructed his staff to prepare patristic references for his addresses,
to which he would add his own. Patristic study has been neglected in
recent decades, partly because the genuine renewal in biblical studies
has absorbed a great deal of scholarly energy and attention, and those
resources are not infinite. Patristics is meant, though, to be a
complement to the study of Scripture. Pope Leo will be reminding the
Church of that.Be Not Afraid! Papal remarks are carefully prepared, so
departures from the text and spontaneous remarks are noteworthy —
reflecting what might have priority in the papal mind. On his first
Sunday as pope, Leo offered an extemporaneous homily at the Mass he
celebrated at the tomb of St. Peter. Speaking of the mission of the
Church and vocations, he said, “Take courage! Without fear! Many times
in the Gospel Jesus says: ‘Do not be afraid.’”A short while later, while
delivering his first Regina Caeli address from the balcony of St.
Peter’s, he departed from his prepared text — which was focused on
priestly and religious vocations — to add: “And to young people, I say:
Do not be afraid! Accept the invitation of the Church and of Christ the
Lord!”That was a direct echo of John Paul’s inaugural “Be not afraid!”
in 1978. It became the signature theme of the entire pontificate; Leo
would have intended that homage by quoting him spontaneously. Certainly,
the immense throng of some 100,000 immediately recognized it, giving a
roar of approval. At his own inaugural homily on April 24, 2005, Pope
Benedict XVI concluded by quoting, and then reinterpreting, the “Be not
afraid!” It became the most quoted passage of Benedict’s immensely rich
pontificate:“And so, today, with great strength and great conviction,
based on long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young
people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives
you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold
in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ — and you will find
true life. Amen.”Benedict took John Paul’s “Be not afraid” and applied
it to the life of each disciple, especially young people, not only the
great political and economic systems of which John Paul spoke. Pope Leo
XIV has now applied it more specifically to the vocational dimension of
youth.To Visit the Blessed Mother“Tomorrow, I wish to go and pray to Our
Lady, that she may watch over all of Rome,” said Pope Francis on his
first appearance as pope on the balcony. The next day he would go to
visit the icon of Mary, Salus Populi Romani, at St. Mary Major. He would
return more than 100 times during his pontificate, finally choosing to
be buried adjacent to the image. It is unlikely any pope will match that
record, but Leo might have contributed to fixing it as a tradition.
John Paul, a few weeks after his election, made a visit to the Marian
shrine of Mentorella. Pope Leo XIV went on Saturday to the shrine of the
Mother of Good Counsel about an hour outside of Rome, a shrine
entrusted to the Augustinian Fathers, which the Holy Father has been
visiting for decades. With John Paul and Leo on either side of the
Marian pilgrim Francis, a short pilgrimage to a Marian shrine may well
become a tradition for newly elected popes.The American Taboo-Americans
are fittingly joyful and proud that a son of Chicago has become pope.
But the very widespread idea that it was particularly unimaginable needs
to be corrected. A poor knowledge of Church history serves no one. The
New York Times headline read, “Pope Leo XIV overcame an old taboo —
being American.” There were dozens of such headlines, in both the
secular and Catholic media.There was no taboo, certainly not an old one.
The Mayflower sailed in 1620, so the possibility of a U.S. pope — as
opposed to a Polish or German one — is relatively recent. While canon
law does not require the conclave to choose a cardinal from within their
number, it has been the practice since 1389. It would be nearly 500
years before the first U.S. cardinal, John McCloskey of New York, was
created 150 years ago in 1875.Eligible for the conclave of 1878, he did
not participate because he could not reach Rome in time. The second U.S.
cardinal was James Gibbons of Baltimore. Cardinal Gibbons happened to
be in Rome when Pope Leo XIII died in 1903, so he became the first
American to participate in a conclave — which elected St. Pius X. Any
“American taboo” in 1903 would have been a taboo on one man! When Pius X
died in 1914, Cardinal Gibbons and Cardinal William O’Connell did not
reach Rome in time to participate in the conclave. Likewise, the U.S.
cardinals did not arrive in time for the 1922 conclave. No Americans, no
taboo on their election. The conclave of 1939 was the first to include
multiple Americans — three to be exact. It elected Pope Pius XII. Still,
given that it had been 400 years since any non-Italian had been elected
pope, it could be said of any other country that there was a “taboo.”
Only since the election of John Paul II in 1978 — after the Italian
elected before him died suddenly — has it been a practical option to
choose another nationality.There have been three conclaves since — 2005,
2013 and 2025. The first elected Pope Benedict XVI, of which there was
no equal in the conclave of any nationality. In 2013, there was serious
attention given to Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston — it was not
unimaginable that he could have been elected instead of Pope Francis. In
2025, a cardinal from the United States was in fact elected. So much
for the “taboo.”There is not a taboo now — but there never has been,
much less an old one.
