Ottawa's archbishop says church ready for a 'rethink' as new pope prioritizes outreach

Ottawa's archbishop says Catholics in the region are elated after the election of a new pope, and are eager to learn more about their spiritual leader and his plans for the church.

Cheers erupted outside the Vatican as white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel's chimney Thursday, indicating cardinals had elected 69-year-old Robert Prevost to lead of the Catholic church. Prevost is originally from Chicago and is the first pope from North America.

Marcel Damphousse, archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall, said he was on his way to a March for Life rally on Parliament Hill when he started getting messages about the election.

Later, he watched as Prevost delivered his first address as Pope Leo XIV from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, where he said he wants to lead a church that "builds bridges with dialogue."

"I think I saw pretty much what I was expecting, a man who's truly filled with emotions, one who is still happy to serve the church in that new capacity as a new pontiff," Damphousse told CBC.

Damphousse said he sees parallels between Pope Leo's vision for the church and his own vision for the local archdiocese — bringing Christ to the people instead of expecting the people to come to church.

"We need to now rethink how we do things and really connect with this call to be a missionary church, going out to the peripheries like Pope Francis had called us to do, and I think Pope Leo will be very much in that line," Damphousse  said.

Damphousse said despite the new pope's nationality, he spent a significant portion of his life working as a missionary in Peru, an experience that helped form his vision for the church.

"I would kind of say he's more of a Peruvian bishop than he is an American bishop, but I think his gifts will provide him a chance to connect with all the universal church," Damphousse said.

First impressions 

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis was in his office when the news of the pope's election broke Thursday. He said the choice of an American-born pope came as "a big surprise."

"I think people know I am a practising Catholic, so it is exciting for me to see," Genius told CBC. "That said, I didn't know a lot about him before. Like a lot of people inside and outside the church, I'm furiously Googling and curious to find out what I can."

Sister Philomena Moncrieff, who also attended the March for Life rally, took note of the name the new pope has selected.

Leo XIII was pope from 1878 until his death in 1903, the fourth-longest reign of any pontiff. He's remembered for his intellectualism and his attempts to bring modern thinking to the church. 

"There is a wonderful, rich history that comes with the previous bearer of the name Leo," Moncrieff said. "It is almost like this pope is taking up where the other one left off."