Japanese Cardinal: Pope Leo XIV brings missionary zeal and Vatican wisdom to papacy

Japanese Cardinal Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo says Pope Leo XIV’s previous work as a mi-ssionary and as a Vatican official were important reasons he will make a good pontiff. Speaking to the Catholic Herald, the cardinal gave his reflections on the election of American Cardinal Robert Francis Pre-vost, a member of the Augusti-nian order, to the Chair of Peter on May 8.
“Pope Leo XIV has a rich background in missionary work, especially in Peru, where he served both as a missionary and later as a bishop. He also led the Augustinian Order as its Superior General and most recently served as Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, giving him deep experience in both pastoral and administration in the Church and also as an effective and reliable leader,” Kikuchi said.
“During the general con-gregation, many cardinals reflected on the importance of the leadership of Pope Francis, especially his courage and wisdom to lead the People of God,” the Japanese cardinal said. “However, we all understood that we were not looking for a second Pope Francis, photocopy of Pope Francis, but a true successor to Saint Peter, who would faithfully guide the Church according to God’s will and responding to the trust given by Jesus,” he said.
“Many expressed that we need a pope who has deep experience and knowledge in both pastoral and administration of the Church with deep spirituality. Many expressed the need to have pastoral minded Pope to continue the footpath of Pope Francis and deepen the path of synodality,” Kikuchi continued.
“Many expressed that we need Pope to run the Curia well with the mind of restructuring began by Pope Francis. Also many expressed that we need a pope with deep spirituality and sound understanding of the faith to unite all in the Church. There were not so many cardinals among us who could be fit into this category and Cardinal Prevost was just the man to fulfill all these requirements,” he explained. Kikuchi said that after some votes, it was clear for all cardinals in the conclave that Prevost “is the one who had already chosen by Jesus himself: We finally found him.