Thanksgiving Mass for the new Pope Leo XIV took place at St. Mary’s Cathedral Church, Yangon, Myanmar, on May 9, 2025, at 5:00 PM.

Auxiliary Bishop of Yangon Archdiocese, Bishop Noel Saw Naw Aye, presided over the Thanksgiving Mass.

Auxiliary Bishop of Yangon Archdiocese, Bishop Francis Than Htun, and Msgr. Andrea Ferrante, Chargé d’ Affaires, and the priests concelebrated the Thanksgiving Mass. The religious and the faithful joined in this Mass.

69 years old, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the Pope on May 8, 2025, and chose the name of Pope Leo XIV. He became the first American Pope and the 267^th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

In his homily, Msgr. Andrea said, “To announce the joy and peace of the risen Christ; this is the heart of the Gospel, for our salvation is Christ. With this joy, we welcomed the election to the Supreme Pontificate of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, an Augustinian, with the name of Leo XIV.”

Msgr. Andrea emphasized that the successor of the Apostle Peter, Christ’s vicar on earth, is the sign of the presence of the risen Lord who has been feeding us with his body and blood for 2000 years, making the Church his visible body.

He asserted, “At a time in history marked by suffering, wars and divisions, the unity of the church – demonstrated by the rapidity of the election of the new Successor of Peter – is a sign that the unity and peace that the world awaits are possible if we allow ourselves to be guided by the love of God the Father.”

“This event has taught us again that it is possible to walk together, to build a better world, without making war against each other,” he added.

Msgr. Andrea recalled the words of Pope Leo, who echoed the words of the late Pope Francis, “God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God. Without fear, united, hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we will go forward. We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us, and the world needs His light.”

Reflecting on the first reading of St. Paul’s conversion and became a missionary to the Gentiles, Msgr. Andrea insisted that Pope Leo had a great missionary heart, he had a great concern for humanity suffering from divisions and wars. He called for unity and asked us to commit ourselves to follow Christ.

Reflecting on the Gospel of Jesus’ word, ‘bread of life’, Msgr. Andrea said, “The words of Pope Leo recalled an appeal by Pope Francis: “Nourishing ourselves of that ‘Bread of Life’ means entering into a dynamism of love and becoming people of peace, people of forgiveness, of reconciliation, of sharing in solidarity. Jesus concludes his discourse with these words: “who eats this bread will live forever” (Audience, 16.08.2015).”

He asserted that from the very first moment Pope Leo opened a dialogue with everyone, inviting us to walk together without fear.

Msgr. Andrea retold the words of Pope Leo on walking together without fear, “as a united Church searching all together for peace and justice, working together as women and men, faithful to Jesus Christ without fear, proclaiming Christ, to be missionaries, faithful to the gospel.”

He continued that Pope Leo indicated what it means to walk together.

“We have to look together how to be a missionary Church, building bridges, dialogue, always open to receiving with open arms for everyone, like this square, open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, love,” Pope Leo said.

Msgr. Andrea said that we thanked the Holy Father for accepting, for saying yes to the Lord’s call to lead his church in this particularly complex and difficult time. Confirmed by the Pope in our faith, we pray to learn to trust Jesus every day.

Msgr. Andrea concluded his homily by praying to Christ to give Pope Leo His light and strength. As Pope Leo recalled Mother Mary at the end of his greeting, Msgr. Andrea appealed, “May Our Lady intercede for the Holy Father and for the people of God. May she obtain for us the grace to nourish ourselves with faith in Jesus, Bread of Life.”