View this uplifting, hopeful, and encouraging presentation on our new Holy Father!

Join Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez as he celebrates a Mass of Thanksgiving for Pope Leo XIV

Friday, May 9, 2025
12:05 p.m.
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
18^th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103

STATEMENT OF ARCHBISHOP NELSON J. PÉREZ UPON THE ELECTION OF OUR NEW HOLY FATHER, POPE LEO XIV

On this historic occasion Catholics in the Philadelphia region and around the world rejoice abundantly! The election of our new Holy Father and his appearance on the balcony at Saint Peter’s Square in Rome today fills us with great hope and joy.

Together with the bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated religious, and lay faithful of the Church of Philadelphia, I express prayerful fidelity to Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert F. Prevost. People from our area already have a special closeness with the Holy Father. He is the first pope from the United States of America and a graduate of Villanova University! With glad hearts, we lift up prayers of Thanksgiving for his election and eagerly anticipate all that will flow from his Petrine Ministry for the good of souls and the good of our world.

I have had the pleasure of working and conversing with the Holy Father as a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America during his time as its president. I witnessed first-hand a wonderful, gentle, humble, and spiritual man of God who is a true gift to the world.

Pope Leo XIV will be a pastor not just for Catholics, but for every person of good will. He is a man of deep faith and extraordinary intellectual ability who understands the pastoral needs of our richly diverse Church as well as the challenges of our modern society. I know that his papacy will be marked by a desire for genuine Christian encounter with all people and that it will be filled with the compassionate love of Jesus Christ.

As a family in faith, our union with Pope Leo XIV is part of God’s plan for His Church on earth. We stand ready to serve as Missionary Disciples for Christ relying upon the Holy Father’s wisdom and pastoral guidance.

Let us all join in giving thanks to almighty God for His providential care and for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit working through the College of Cardinals. May Mary, Queen of the Apostles, Saint Peter, and his saintly successors present the prayerful intentions of Pope Leo XIV to God our Father.

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez Issues Call for Prayerful Solidarity in Advance of the Conclave to Elect the Next Pope

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As the Universal Church concludes the tradition of novendiales with nine days of prayer for the happy repose of the soul of Pope Francis, we continue to lift our hearts in gratitude for the gift of his life and Petrine ministry. The Church of Philadelphia will forever cherish his time with us during the World Meeting of Families–Philadelphia in 2015. May Pope Francis rest in peace through the mercy of God.

Beginning on May 7, 2025, the College of Cardinals will open the Conclave and prayerfully discern the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the election of a new Supreme Pontiff for the Church.

The coming days offer an opportunity for all of us to pray for the College of Cardinals and the Church as a whole. I invite you to pray fervently for these intentions during celebrations of the Mass, frequent Eucharistic adoration, rosary devotions, and private prayer. In parishes across the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, holy hours have been scheduled for this purpose. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, please visit archphila.org/conclave.

The following petition is also being shared with all parishes in our local Church for the Universal Prayer at Masses in the days leading up to the election of a new Pope.

For confident assurance in the work of the Holy Spirit, for all the members of the Church, and especially for the Cardinal electors, for the election of a new universal Shepherd and successor to Saint Peter for the needs of our times,

Let us pray to the Lord. / Lord, hear our prayer.

May Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, prayerfully intercede with the Lord to choose a shepherd after His own heart, and may God bless you abundantly.

Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez, D.D.
Archbishop of Philadelphia

Monsignor McCormac shares highlights from the Pastoral Report.

Monsignor McCormac’s Easter Greetings!

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez sent a letter of prayerful greetings to the Jewish faith community in the Philadelphia region on the occasion of Passover, which begins Saturday evening, April 12, 2025.

Click here to read the letter.