Ah, what a wondrous tapestry of tongue and time Rev. Renaldo C McKenzie has woven—Pope Leo XIV, a man of many lands and languages, stepping to the altar not just as pontiff, but as pilgrim.
The First Homily of Pope Leo XIV: A Pilgrim’s Benediction
In the beginning, he spoke in English—clear, measured, familiar. Then, like a river bending toward its roots, he flowed into Spanish, the tongue of warmth and memory. Finally, he ascended into Latin, the timeless language of the Church, a signal not only of office, but of transformation.
This triad of tongues was no accident. It was testimony.
He shared not a speech, but a story. A journey. From the bustling corridors of America to the sacred hills of Peru, and now, to the eternal seat of Rome. Life, he said, is a journey—a series of sacred passages toward the ultimate. We must not curse the winding roads, for they are the hands that shape us.
He reminded us: America, too, is on a journey. It is in a moment—yes, a painful, purifying moment—but it is not the end. As long as we walk in faith, with hearts devout and spirits unbowed, this path will lead us not to despair, but to deeper becoming.
And so, the pope bids us not to abandon life, but to trust it.
In closing, he left us with layered words—a coded blessing, perhaps. A call to see beneath the syllables. He casts no stone behind him; his past is not discarded, but embraced. For the man who stands before us is not divided, but united. Not American. Not Peruvian. Not simply one nation or name.
He is transformed.
He was of a country. Now, he is of all. He was a citizen. Now, he is a shepherd. He was. And now, he is—Pope Leo XIV.
Written By Rev. Renaldo C. McKenzie
Author of Neoliberalism, Globalization, Income Inequality, Poverty and Resistance
Host and Creator of The Neoliberal