In 2023, then-Bishop Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, shared that he and Pope Francis previously had tension between them while the late pope was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in Argentina.
(LifeSiteNews) -- A newly unearthed video shows Pope Leo XIV, then a bishop in Peru, discussing his past conflict with Pope Francis.
The 2023 video shows then-Bishop Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, speaking about the 2013 election of Pope Francis. Prevost, who previously served as a missionary priest in Peru and as head of the Augustinians, said he thought he would never be appointed bishop due to past conflicts with then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.
"Yesterday marked 10 years since Pope Francis' election. I knew Jorge Mario Bergoglio when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires," the new Pope says in a video, speaking in Spanish. "As the Augustinian General, I'd met him several times. When he was elected, I told some brothers, 'Great, thank God I'll never be bishop.' I won't say why, but not all meetings with Cardinal Bergoglio were mutually agreeable."He shares then in the video how he invited Pope Francis in 2013 to celebrate Mass for the Augustinians in August 2013 at its general chapter meeting. The opening Mass would be in the Basilica of St. Augustine in Rome. Pope Francis accepted, despite people telling Prevost he likely would not accept.
"Now rest," Pope Francis reportedly told Prevost in 2013. "Thank you, Holy Father, I hope to rest," the new Pope said at the time. Several months later, Pope Francis appointed him bishop of the diocese of Chiclayo in Peru.
FLASHBACK: Pope Leo XIV denounced media ‘sympathy’ for ‘abortion, homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia’
Since the election of Pope Leo XIV last Thursday, many Catholics have been wondering what type of pope he would be and if he would break from Pope Francis.
LifeSiteNews has published a series of reports detailing the positive signs from the new Pope as well as potential problems.
Traditionalist prelates Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke and Robert Cardinal Sarah have issued positive messages about the new pope, as reported by LifeSiteNews.
Furthermore, the Pope called for an end to global wars during his first Sunday Regina Caeli address. He also sang the prayer in Latin.
As Senior Vatican Correspondent Michael Haynes reported, the Pope said, "never again war,” citing the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Pakistan by name.
LifeSiteNews readers are invited to continue praying for our new pope.
