BOSTON -- The Cathedral of the Holy Cross was near capacity when Archbishop Richard G. Henning celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 14.

The Mass and its attendees showed the linguistic and cultural diversity of the archdiocese. The Prayers of the Faithful were read in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Swahili, and Korean. Archbishop Henning delivered his homily in English and Spanish, and Bishop Cristiano Barbosa delivered his own remarks in Portuguese.

"I don't know about you, but I am filled with excitement and joy at this beautiful moment in the life of the church," the archbishop said at the start of Mass.

The assembly burst into applause.

In his homily, Archbishop Henning said that the institution of the papacy has parallels throughout the Bible. He pointed to God choosing Abraham, and the Jewish people as a whole, as his elect, and as an example of his love and personal relationship with humanity. Similarly, Matthias, the apostle whose feast day was also on May 14, was chosen to replace Judas. The Apostles allowed God to lead them to that choice. That, Archbishop Henning said, is an example of God calling someone to be a leader for his church.

"Is that not what we witnessed last week?" he said. "The cardinals were not there to campaign. They were there to invoke the power of the Holy Spirit, to discern the will of God, to listen. As the Lord tells us, 'If you have ears to listen, hear me.' They heard the need of the church, and they gave to us this man, Pope Leo, with a new name to signify the magnitude of the change in his life."

Archbishop Henning said that Pope Leo has "caused a stir" by being the first pope from the U.S.

"He's from Chicago and we'll forgive him for that," he joked. "I know the people of Peru feel close to him, and that he is one of theirs. They would say he's also the first Peruvian pope."

Archbishop Henning said that when he celebrated a Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Mattapan on May 11, that parish's Haitian community was "over the moon" to learn that the new pope has some Haitian ancestry. However, the archbishop said, the pope's nationality does not matter.

"What is important is that this is the man that the church has discerned to bear the weight of this office," he said. "And it is a weight. It's hard to be a person who shepherds a billion people. But what have we seen already? That he has accepted this burden, this yoke, with a sense of serenity and joy."

The archbishop said that Pope Leo has preached the Gospel clearly and shown selflessness for the sake of the church, and that the people of Boston must do the same.

"It is our call as disciples of Jesus and faithful men and women of the church to receive from this new Holy Father his discernment of God's will and to go out and live that faith, that discipleship, to love one another as we have been loved," he said.

In his remarks, Bishop Barbosa said the Mass is a warm-up for the global celebration of the new pope. He observed that the Catholic world is happy at Pope Leo's election, and that such happiness is what the Catholic Church offers through its relationship with Christ. He also pointed out that the new pope has spoken of peace, mercy, and building bridges.

At the conclusion of Bishop Barbosa's remarks, Archbishop Henning said "Long live Pope Leo!" and "Que Viva Papa Leon!" prompting another wave of applause from the assembly.

After Mass, Archbishop Henning expressed his gratitude to the members of the assembly for making the effort to come to the cathedral on a busy weekday evening.

"I am well aware of the traffic and the difficulty parking here, so I know it was a sacrifice for every one of us to have this opportunity to be here together, to pray together," he said.

He pointed out that due to the many languages spoken during Mass, every single person in the assembly likely had at least one moment where they couldn't understand what was being said.

"Irrespective of the words, every one of us here shares the same faith in Jesus Christ, one lord, one faith, one baptism," he said.

Similarly, he said, the church has one pope to lead and guide the faithful.

"I wish I could show Pope Leo what is happening here tonight, but I think he knows that churches all over the globe" are praying for him, the archbishop said.

Speaking to The Pilot after the Mass, the faithful expressed their excitement for the new pope.

"I wish him luck," said James Keenan. "I think he's doing what he should."

"Apparently he felt the calling early on in his life as a youngster and playing with his brothers," said his wife Dorothy Keenan. "So I wish him well. I think he'll be the guidance for the world."

Michael Flynn said he is "very excited" for Pope Leo XIV.

"He's American-born, but he certainly filled all of those different nationalities, different voices with love, I can tell," he said.

Flynn said he follows the new pope on Instagram.

"I think he's on the right path," he said.

"I think he's a blessing to the church," said Michelle Martin. "I think this is the hand of God, the hand of the Holy Spirit."