Lagos State University Muslim Community has felicitated Catholics on the successful election of a new pope, describing his position as a symbol of world peace.

LASUMC also said the 14-year sojourn of the new pontiff among the most vulnerable and in the poorly-developed part of Peru prepared him for the onerous task.

Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the 267th Pope on Thursday.
He adopted the title Pope Leo XIV.

In a congratulatory message on Friday in Lagos, the LASUMC chief imam, Amidu Sanni, said, “On behalf of the muslim community of LASU, I send a goodwill message to the 1.4 billion catholic faithful on the successful selection of Cardinal Robert Prevost as the 267th Pontiff.”

Mr Sanni said the pope had a rich background of an uncommon rapprochement with the poor and ordinary priests.

“Pope Leo’s first public address as the first American Pontiff strikes a philosophical note if juxtaposed with the world perception of the current leadership in the U.S., as he also advocates peace over power.

“His call for disarmament and reconciliation in all conflict zones of the world also strikes a moral chord in a tumultuous world that is bedevilled by violent conflicts, fear, trade wars, deep political divides, nuclear threats, and disrespect for human dignity.

“Let me use this opportunity to call on African leaders to imbibe this new spirit of love and public good which is being engendered by the new pontiff in order to create a new regime of trust and goodwill between the leadership and the followership,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV emerged in a second round of ballot on Thursday, after the first ballot on Wednesday failed to produce a new pope.

One hundred thirty-three cardinals elected the new pope, the first pope born in the U.S. and the first North American pope.

He was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Pope Leo XIV holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics (1977), Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union, Chicago (1982), and Licentiate and Doctorate in Canon Law from Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome (1984, 1987). 

(NAN)