The election of Pope Leo XIV has been greeted by celebration and curiosity around the world— and in the small coastal village of Mendocino, by a surprising sense of personal connection.
From schoolchildren to churchgoers, locals are discovering just how closely their lives brush up against that of the new leader of the Catholic Church — sometimes just one or two degrees away.
Pastor Matt Davis of the Mendocino Presbyterian Church gave students from Montessori del Mar an impromptu lesson about the new pope during a community trash pickup event on Friday.
“His family comes from Louisiana, and before that, from Haiti," Davis said. "Haiti is a really interesting place because they had one of the first revolutions in the world for democracy ... So I love the fact that this new pope has this deep heritage of working for liberation and freedom for all God's people."
The students’ teacher reminded them that Maria Montessori, the founder of their school’s philosophy, was also Catholic.
"Her highest measure, especially when she came to the end of her life, was what she called it 'cosmic peace,'" she said, adding that Montessori sought for children to be involved in their communities and also for peace.
Across town at St. Anthony’s of Mendocino Catholic Church, the news of the new pope resonated on a personal level.
“It’s amazing how many small connections we have with the Pope,” said Rev. Robert "Rob" Torczynski . He said one visiting parishioner had a picture on her phone of her son with the Pope — from when he was still a bishop. And another parishioner actually went to the same high school he did.
That parishioner, Ed Burke, said he attended Mendel Catholic High School in Chicago, where the Pope’s two brothers also studied and his mother worked as an assistant librarian.
“The Pope joined the Augustinian order right out of grammar school,” Burke said. “I have three friends who are priests and bishops personally connected to the Pope." These include Bishop Dan Turley, who was two years behind Burke in school.
Burke recalled stories of Father John McNabb, another Mendel High educator who later became the first bishop of Chulucanas, Peru, where Pope Leo XIV served as a missionary beginning in 1985. McNabb reportedly traveled to Peru despite threats from the Shining Path rebel group, driven by a steadfast commitment to his faith.
“The South Side of Chicago and the Vatican — that’s a connection I never thought would be made,” Burke said.
