Catholic Theological Union of Chicago sends prayers to alum Pope Leo XIV

CHICAGO (WGN) — Tuesday Mass at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago has an air of excitement this week.

The graduate school for students from around the globe is beaming with pride that its alumnus Robert Prevost is now Pope Leo XIV.

“We always pray for our alums who are doing such phenomenal ministries in 60 countries all over the world,” Sister Barbara Reid said. “We weren’t quite prepared to have one of our alums take on the role of pope.”

They’re writing down well wishes and prayers for the new pope.

Reid and the Pope’s Augustinian brothers will hand-deliver the messages when they go to the Vatican for Pope Leo’s official inauguration Sunday.

Ahead of the big weekend, Pope Leo visited the Augustinian Order’s headquarters in Rome.

 Father John Lydon is part of the delegation heading to Rome. He attended Villanova with Pope Leo and worked with him in Peru for a decade, at a time when its people faced terrorism and dictatorship.

“Father Bob in those days… we were the two priests there,” Lydon said. “We had soup kitchens open to people who were leaving the mountains due to terrorism and had nothing. And those two soup kitchens still function.”

He says his friend is a defender of human rights.

“A very level-headed person, very friendly. A bridge builder, very open to hear different points of view,” Lydon said. “It’s just a great joy to be able to be part of it simply because I know him so well and worked together for so many years.”