There was a lot of excitement on Thursday evening with the announcement of our new Pope Leo 14^th. They say visuals are always so important and the sight of white smoke from the chimney created huge excitement. People were jumping and dancing with joy in Saint Peter’s Square, while text messages went into overdrive all over the world with news of our new pope.

The feedback over the past few days has been overwhelmingly positive. Everyone feels the good work of Pope Francis will be continued. Our new pope has been described as friendly, down to earth, gentle and a good organiser. He has been described as a beacon of hope, a great guy and someone who loves working with the poor.  He is a missionary at heart and a man of peace. These are hugely important foundation stones for any leader.

As he looked out across St. Peter’s Square on Thursday evening, I could see tears welling up and then the camera moved elsewhere. It is a massive responsibility to be the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics across the world. But his inspiration will be the person of Jesus, who encouraged everyone to be a person of peace and to share good news. Our world today so badly needs peace and good news.

Our new pope I feel will be a hugely important leader and will do great work. I congratulate him this weekend and like so many more people near and far, we will pray for him. May he be blessed in all he does, may he be filled with hope, may he have courage, hope and strength to make good decisions and may Pope Leo continue to be inspired by God’s personal love of each of us. Amen

(Thought for the week is updated each Monday)