Bishop of Charlottetown says election of Pope Leo XIV is 'wonderful news for North America'

A few hours after white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney to indicate the church's cardinals had made a decision in Rome, the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown was celebrating the election of Pope Leo XIV. 

Cardinal Robert Prevost is the first North American to become the leader of the world's estimated 1.4 billion Catholics.

"This is wonderful news for North America, and for all Americas indeed," Bishop Joseph Dabrowski said Thursday in an interview at St. Dunstan's Basilica in Charlottetown.

"It's filled my heart with joy."

Dabrowski thought the process would take another day at least, "so I wasn't kind of prepared — well, you're always spiritually prepared but maybe not physically."

The bishop said Pope Leo's past experience, growing up in Chicago but spending many years of service in Peru, will bring a new perspective to the church's leadership, "recognizing the needs of bridging the two worlds."

A divided church and financial woes await Pope Leo XIV

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Pope Leo XIV was introduced to cheering crowds in St. Peter’s Square, but the new pontiff will have to face multiple challenges, from the financial issues surrounding the Vatican to a church that remains divided over whether and how much it needs to change.

Dabrowski said he had had correspondence with Prevost in the past, when the bishop of Charlottetown was still based in London, Ont.

"I was responsible for international priest work in the diocese, especially Spanish-speaking," he recalled. "I contacted him by email asking if [his] diocese would be open to sending a priest to the Diocese of London, especially for the Spanish-speaking communities, and he was open to that.

"I believe he was moved, so we did not continue. He promised he would have some priest at some point, but at that time, I don't think he had priests ready to send to the diocese."

Jubilee trip to Rome

Dabrowski hopes he will be able to meet with Leo XIV in the coming months, given that 2025 has been declared to be the Jubilee Year of Hope, a special time of gathering and remission of sins in the Catholic church.  

"This is a Jubilee year, so I'm looking forward to meeting the Pope," he said. "Actually, in a month, I will be going with the pilgrims from our diocese, so we'll have — I'm hoping — an opportunity to meet the Pope."

Dabrowski said having a leader with Leo's experience fills him with hope.  

"As a Catholic community, it is hard to put into words... Having a leader who spent so much time in two different realities of poor and North America, will lead us in faith and to the next step."

He said that is reflected in the Pope's choice of a name for his pontificate.

"Leo XIV again tells a lot about the legacy he wants to continue from Pope Leo XIII ... a social justice advocate, advocating for the working class and also working promoting different denominations to work together for unity and dialogue among different faiths and religions."