Bishop Mar Joseph Srampickal, united with all our clergy, religious, and faithful of the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Great Britain, we raise our hearts in prayer and thanksgiving to God for the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV.
We joyfully welcome you, with deep love and filial devotion. May your ministry be richly blessed as you lead the Church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:1).
We rejoice in this moment of grace for the Universal Church! Holy Father, we walk with you in faith and hope. You have our prayers! With great joy and unity with the Universal Church, the Catholic Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Great Britain rejoices in the election of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, formerly Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A., as the Supreme Pontiff and successor to Saint Peter.
As a young priest, he was sent to the Augustinian missions in Peru, where he dedicated over a decade to pastoral ministry and priestly formation. In Trujillo, he served as community prior, director of formation, and professor of canon law, patristics, and moral theology at the Major Seminary of “San Carlos y San Marcelo.” He also served as judicial vicar of the archdiocese and ministered to the poor on the outskirts of the city, caring for the community that would become the parish of Saint Rita. From 1992 to 1999, he was parish administrator of Our Lady of Monserrat.
In 1999, he was elected Provincial Prior of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Chicago, and two years later was elected Prior General of the entire Augustinian Order, a ministry to which he was re-elected in 2007. Returning to Chicago in 2013, he resumed roles in formation and governance within the Order until 3 November 2014, when Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, and raised him to the episcopacy as Titular Bishop of Sufar. He entered the diocese on 7 November and was ordained bishop on 12 December 2014, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. His episcopal motto, “In Illo uno unum” – “In the One, we are One” – drawn from a sermon by Saint Augustine, reflects his profound vision of unity in Christ.
Appointed Bishop of Chiclayo on 26 September 2015, he served the diocese faithfully until 2023. In March 2018, he was elected second vice-president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, contributing also as a member of its Economic Council and as president of the Commission for Culture and Education. In July 2019, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Congregation for the Clergy, followed in November 2020 by his appointment to the Congregation for Bishops. On 15 April 2020, he was also named Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Callao.
On 30 January 2023, Pope Francis called him to Rome to serve as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, raising him to the rank of Archbishop. In that capacity, he accompanied the Pope on Apostolic Journeys and took part in both sessions of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality held in October 2023 and October 2024. He was created Cardinal in the Consistory of 30 September 2023 and assigned the Diaconate of Saint Monica, which he officially took possession of on 28 January 2024.
As a leading figure in the Church, he was appointed a member of several Vatican dicasteries: for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches), for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the Eastern Churches, for the Clergy, for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for Culture and Education, for Legislative Texts, and also of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. On 6 February 2025, he was promoted to the Order of Bishops and granted the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano.
In a grace-filled moment for the Church, he was elected as the 267th successor of Saint Peter, taking the name Pope Leo XIV. His vast experience as a missionary, educator, religious superior, bishop, and Vatican leader reflects a life rooted in service, humility, and deep theological insight. His leadership is expected to bring a renewed missionary zeal, pastoral sensitivity, and theological clarity to the Universal Church.
The Catholic Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Great Britain offers its heartfelt prayers and sincere filial devotion to Pope Leo XIV. We entrust his ministry to the maternal care of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to Saint Thomas the Apostle, the patron of our Church, to Saint Augustine, and St Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the Eparchy.
“May his pontificate be one that leads the Catholic Church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for all the faithful.”
