With profound respect, gratitude, and emotion, we wish to share with the entire world a message at this historic moment for humanity: the election of His Holiness Leo XIV as the new Successor of Peter. His accession to the pontificate is, for us, Catholic women leaders from every continent, not only a sign of continuity and renewal in the Church, but also a seed of hope for believers and non-believers alike who yearn for a more just, more humane, and more fraternal world.

The new Pope, born in Chicago in 1955, grew up in a family with simple roots and deep Catholic convictions. From an early age, he displayed a special sensitivity for his neighbor and a lively intelligence that led him to excel in his studies. He attended the Archdiocese of Chicago's high school and later entered Villanova University, where he studied mathematics, a discipline that nurtured his analytical and organized thinking. He later received training in Augustinian spirituality, which would forever shape his worldview, with a contemplative, communal, and love-centered approach.

His life has built real bridges between north and south, east and west, between the Americas, Europe, and Asia. His career unites the spiritual richness of North America with the living experience of Latin America. He has been shaped by cultures, sciences, and peoples. He possesses a universal vision that enables him to integrate the multiple realities that traverse our planet today, with the wisdom of one who has listened to and walked alongside the most humble, and with the clarity of one who has reflected deeply on the great challenges of our time.

In 1985, he was sent to Peru, where he became a pastor, brother, and servant to the most neglected communities in the Andes. His pastoral work in regions marked by extreme poverty, extractive mining, isolation, and neglect allowed him to experience the pain and hopes of thousands of families. He listened to women struggling to sustain their homes, comforted children without access to basic necessities, and accompanied men working in inhumane conditions. His closeness to the Andean people was and continues to be a testimony of unconditional love.

It was precisely this experience on the margins, this profound connection with the poor, that allowed him to build an ecclesial vision in tune with that of Francis. In 2019, he was called by the Argentine Pope to serve in the Dicastery for Bishops, confirming his pastoral leadership, his evangelical sensitivity, and his capacity for wise discernment.

In Leo XIV, the American culture in which he was born and raised blends with the passionate love for the vulnerable that characterized Pope Francis. Therefore, we have the confidence and hope that he will know how to listen and respond to the cries of women—especially in their vocation as mothers, wives, workers, and servants—and of all the men and women who today live in uncertainty, not knowing whether they will be able to feed their children or whether they will be welcomed in foreign lands. He will also know how to listen to young people, migrants, victims of violence, and those seeking meaning in the midst of pain.

Leo XIV is not just a new Pope. He is the living sign of a Church that continues to walk alongside peoples, that embraces diversity, that defends human dignity, and that is not afraid to reach out to others. He is the pastor we need in this time: courageous, compassionate, profound. In his heart burns the fire of the Gospel that Francis knew how to rekindle with tenderness, justice, and joy. And it is that same fire that calls us today to continue building, from every corner of the world, a civilization of love.

From the International Network of Catholic Women Leaders, we raise our prayers for His Holiness Leo XIV, and we renew our commitment to continue serving, united, the mission of a more just, more synodal, and more humane Church.

Alejandra Segura

Chairwoman

International Network of Catholic Women Leaders