Nigerian Reverend Father Speaks on Pope Leo XIV From Vatican

• Nigerian cleric, Rev Father Soyemi of St. Augustine's Catholic Church Chaplaincy in NAF in Ikeja, has congratulated Pope Leo XIV
• Father Soyemi, in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, explained that the new Pope is a leader to both the Christian and non-Christian world
• The cleric, who was in the Vatican during the election, Pope is a leader of the church, and he is expected to remain a leader to everyone

Rev Father Soyemi of St. Augustine's Catholic Church Chaplaincy in Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in Ikeja, the Lagos State Capital, has called on Pope Leo XIV to remain a leader to the Christians and non-Christians across the world.

The Reverent Father, who was at the Vatican to witness the election of the new pope, explained to Legit.ng, in an exclusive interview, that the new Pope is a leader of the church and he is expected to remain a leader to everyone.

His statement reads:

"The Pope is the spiritual leader of the church. He is expected to be a leader and father to all catholics, Christians and non-Christians. I expect him to be a leader after God's own heart."

Emergence of Pope Leo XIV

69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected by conclave as the new Pope of the Catholic Church after the funeral rites of Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88 years.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, is the first Pope from the United States of America, USA, in 2000 years. Born in Chicago in 1955, the new Pontiff also serves as the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

Prevost was described as a moderate who was close to the late Pope Francis and was said to have spent his missionary years in Peru.

Process of electing a new Pope

The process of electing a new Pope has been technical, and those elected are always unmarried. However, the road to celibacy in the Catholic Church has now become uniform and a rule, which is being enforced in the church, has been long and is still being contested.

In AD325, the Council of Nicea, Roman Emperor Constantine, discussed the practice of priestly celibacy, and by AD692, the Council of Trullo made it mandatory for bishops to remain celibate, but not everyone followed the practice.

Clerical celibacy has been one of the major factors that contributed to the "Great Schism" between the Catholic and Orthodox churches in the 11th Century.

The 11th-century Gregorian reforms and the two Lateran councils of 1123 and 1139 enforced the practice of staying away from sexual relations more seriously, and finally, celibacy became the defining feature of the Western-rite Catholic priesthood in the reformation era of the 16th Century and the Council of Trent (1545 to 1563).

List of popes in the last 110 years

Legit.ng earlier reported that Pope Francis has become the 10th leader of the world of the Catholic Church in the last 110 years in history.

The late Francis died on Monday, April 21, which was the same day as Easter Monday, just after delivering Easter Sunday's sermon.

The list of popes who have ruled the Catholic Church world in the last 110 years, from Pope Pius X to Francis, has been compiled.

Source: Legit.ng