News | 9th May 2025
Peace, dialogue, bridges: The LSRI welcomes the election of Pope Leo XIV
At the time of the announcement LSRI Director Professor Celia Deane-Drummond was in Rome as part of a large ecumenical event considering the possibility of a liturgical Feast of Creation across the worldwide churches. With colleagues, she rushed to St Peter's Square. She comments: “the election was an astonishing and electric experience to witness first hand. The assembled crowd was packed with young people, jubilant and rejoicing. His speech made absolutely clear that he would follow in the legacy of Pope Francis and make Catholic social teaching, bridge building and peace making his priority in his pontificate, giving priority to the poorest members of society”.
When the announcement was made, Dr Séverine Deneulin, Director of International Development, was delivering an online lecture on Catholic Social Teaching and socio-environmental justice at the Catholic University of Chile . “The joy was even greater,” she said, “when I heard the name Leo XIV, as Leo XIII was the one who started Catholic Social Teaching.”
You can read below further statements from Campion Hall and the Jesuits in Britain in reaction to the election of the new Pope.
A Statement from Campion Hall
At Campion Hall we were inspired and encouraged by the example and teaching of Pope Francis; his major encyclical on care for creation, Laudato Si, was the catalyst for the establishment of our Laudato Si Research Institute, dedicated to scholarship around integral ecology; an area of research that includes environment, international development, and social justice, with particular attentiveness to the voices of those who live with the consequences of catastrophic climate change and poverty.
We welcome the election of Robert Prevost as Pope and look forward to being inspired and encouraged by his leadership. In his opening words to the crowds gathered in Rome, he spoke of the need to work for peace, to be a church that walks with all who suffer, and to continue to grow together as a synodal church.
Throughout his ministry the new Pope has lived values that are very much in line with those we try to live here at Campion Hall; commitment to inclusiveness and welcome, solidarity with those who live in the most difficult and oppressive circumstances, and a personal commitment to scholarship and personal formation.
Our mission at Campion Hall is to be a welcoming community of learning and research for a flourishing humanity in a reconciled world. In his first words as Pope, Leo XIV spoke about the urgent need for peace in the world, signalling that his pontificate will share our hopes for bridgebuilding and the reconciliation of all humanity. We look forward to walking alongside our new Pope in his call for the church to be one that always seeks peace, charity, closeness, especially to those who are suffering.
Professor Celia Deane-Drummond, Director of LSRI and Senior Research Fellow at Campion Hall shares
As Director of LSRI we are delighted with the election of Pope Leo XVI who will make sure that the legacy of Pope Francis will continue, and that the plight of the most impoverished and oppressed members of global society will find a voice. His reference back to Rerum Novarum in his name puts Catholic social teaching at the heart of his future ministry, along with subsequent encylicals that echo that document and take it further, including Laudato si'.
Dr Austen Ivereigh, Fellow in Contemporary Church History at Campion Hall, has been retained by the BBC for the past few weeks to provide coverage of the Papal funeral and subsequent conclave. In a message from Rome he writes that
“We can expect a pontificate aligned with, and flowing out from, the basic contours defined by Francis: humility, pastorality, synodality; concern for the poor, and for creation. But Leo will be different; those who know him praise him as a bridge-builder in a time of walls, and peace making — in the world as well as in the Church — will define his pontificate.”
Statement from the Jesuit Provincial
Dear friends in Christ,
Praised be God, who in His providence has raised His humble servant, His Holiness Leo XIV, to the See of Peter.
On behalf of the Jesuits in Britain, it is my joy to welcome our new Holy Father into the heart of our mission and the centre of our prayers. We give thanks to God for this moment of grace, and we assure the Holy Father of our prayerful support as he begins this important ministry of leading the Church with wisdom, compassion, and a heart open to all.
From the moment of his election, the universal Church has been renewed by the Spirit and our Jesuit vocation is renewed with it. As we look to the challenges and hopes of the world today, we renew our commitment to serve Christ under his pastoral leadership. Like St Ignatius, we remain ready to go wherever God calls, attentive to the whispers of the Spirit and eager to respond: “Here I am; send me.”
Our vow of obedience to the Pope has long been at the heart of our mission, calling us to walk alongside those seeking hope, reconciliation, and justice. With Pope Leo XIV, he successor of Peter, we continue this path of service. Guided by our four apostolic preferences and together with our partners in schools, parishes, retreat houses, universities, and social ministries, we offer our prayers and actions to bring Christ’s light to those most in need.
We invite all people of goodwill to join us in praying for Pope Leo XIV: May the Lord grant him the wisdom to guide us, the courage to speak God’s word with tenderness, and the grace to build bridges of peace in today’s world. May we, too, continue to serve wherever the Church calls us, with open hearts, willing hands, and a deep trust in God’s providence. May his ministry be filled with the light of Christ, leading us all toward a deeper union with God and one another.
Ad majorem Dei gloriam
Fr Peter Gallagher SJ
Photo of Pope Leo XIV: Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
