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VATICAN CITY // Missionary priest Father Ken Mazur has shared his memories of studying alongside then-seminarian Robert Francis Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV — at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago, offering personal insights into the character of the new pontiff and what his election means for the Catholic Church in the United States.
“When I heard ‘Robertum Franciscum,’ (during the new pope’s announcement) I went: ‘Oh my […], it’s Bob!’” Fr. Mazur told AsiaNews, recalling the moment he realized his former classmate had been elected pope. Fr. Mazur is now a missionary with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME).
The two priests spent four years together at CTU, preparing for ordination in an environment that brought together students from diverse religious orders, including Franciscans, Augustinians, PIME, Divine Word Missionaries, and Xaverians. Fr. Mazur remembers the new pope, who belongs to the Order of Saint Augustine and was ordained in 1982, as “very quiet,” “humble,” and “down-to-earth.”
He also described the future pope as “friendly” and “approachable,” and someone “you could talk to about your class, about your homework. Or about anything.” Fr. Mazur added, “He was also very practical. He looked at things like everybody does. His head was not in the clouds.”
Fr. Mazur also reflected on other traits Pope Leo XIV is likely bringing to the pontificate.
“Even though he hasn’t lived in the United States in many years, he still has the American mentality of being able to handle a corporation, we could say. He is probably a very good organiser, like many Americans are,” Fr. Mazur reflected. “Which is also something that the Church needs.”
The election of an American pope came as a surprise to many, including Fr. Mazur himself. “Here in America his name had circulated a bit, as a papabile, but I didn’t believe it. I know him, and he is a good guy but an American pope … not possible,” Mazur admitted.
Nonetheless, he sees the election as a sign of hope for the American Church, noting that Pope Leo XIV’s background as a missionary and his emphasis on peace could “give hope to the Catholic Church in the United States.”
