After a two-day conclave to select Francisco’s successor, the 133 elector cardinals have elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new Pope. In Portugal, various reactions to the new leader of the Catholic Church have emerged from both political and religious leaders.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was among the first to respond, expressing his “profound joy” on behalf of himself and the Portuguese people, in greeting Pope Leo XIV.
A note from the Presidency revealed that the Portuguese head of state sent a congratulatory message to Pope Leo XIV following his selection as head of the Vatican State and supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church.
Subsequently, in comments to journalists, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that the new Pope is seen as a continuator of Pope Francis, with whom he was “very close”, and someone open to the world, particularly to the Americas.
The Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, who was in Fátima for a campaign action of the AD when white smoke appeared from the Vatican, congratulated Pope Leo XIV and wished him a pontificate full of light, humanism, and universalism, promoting peace and understanding in a context of international instability and uncertainty.
On social media, Montenegro referred to the current global situation, expressing his hope that “in this international hour of great instability and uncertainty, Pope Leo XIV and the Holy See can be heard in promoting peace, empathy, compassion, and understanding among all.”
Felicito Sua Santidade o Papa Leão XIV pela eleição e desejo um pontificado pleno de luz, humanismo e universalismo.
Felicito os católicos portugueses e os católicos de todo o mundo.
Que nesta hora internacional de grande instabilidade e incerteza, o Papa Leão XIV e a Santa Sé…
— Luís Montenegro (@LMontenegro_PT) May 8, 2025
Political parties expect Leo XVI to “continue the legacy of Francisco.”
Most political parties expressed hope that Pope Leo XVI would continue the “legacy” of his predecessor, Pope Francis.
In a social media post, the secretary-general of the Socialist Party (PS), Pedro Nuno Santos, stated that Leo XVI now has “the responsibility to assume and continue with the legacy and example of Pope Francis” and extended a “special greeting to Portuguese Catholics.”
Hoje é um dia importante para o mundo — e não apenas para os católicos — com a eleição de Sua Santidade o Papa Leão XIV. Cabe-lhe agora a responsabilidade de assumir e prosseguir com o legado e o exemplo do Papa Francisco.
Dirijo uma saudação especial aos católicos portugueses,… pic.twitter.com/wTAzcmPBZy
— Pedro Nuno Santos (@PNSpedronuno) May 8, 2025
The secretary-general of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Paulo Raimundo, shared a similar sentiment, hoping that the new Pope will continue the legacy of Pope Francis, who left a mark on “environmental defense, social rights, and peace.”
Rui Tavares, spokesperson for Livre, expressed the hope that the pontificate would be good for humanity and the causes of inclusion, tolerance, and understanding. “We hope that his pontificate will be carried out in a way that is good for humanity and for the causes that Pope Francis also defended, namely those of inclusion, tolerance, and understanding, which are much needed in such challenging times as today,” he stated.
André Ventura, leader of Chega, expressed hope that the new Pope would be “a sign of hope” and reform and considered that Leo XIV could follow in Francisco’s footsteps in some causes while distinguishing himself in others.
Nuno Melo, president of the CDS, argued that Leo XIV will have to be a “leader with an ecumenical vision” in a “difficult world” and pointed out the high expectations inherited from the legacy of Francisco’s pontificate, “who in very difficult times, with a very dangerous world, knew how to convey the right messages.”
Before the identity of the elected Pope was known, the national coordinator of the Left Bloc (BE), Mariana Mortágua, had expressed that the world needs a Pope who “denounces war” and environmental destruction, emphasizing that the Church plays an essential role in society.
Leo XVI, the “bridge builder for peace and justice” and the “Pope the Church and the world need.”
The Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) considered that Pope Leo XIV will be a builder of bridges for peace and justice and desired the continuity of the synodal path alongside migrants, the poor, and the marginalized.
“In the full Jubilee of Hope, in today’s world so thirsty for love and mercy, we are certain that the Holy Father, by testifying to the Gospel of Jesus, will contribute to inter-religious dialogue and dialogue with society, in building bridges for fraternity in the search for pathways of peace and justice, offering humanity renewed sparks of hope,” stated a CEP release.
Separately, the president of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference and bishop of Leiria-Fátima, José Ornelas, anticipated a pontificate of Leo XIV marked by “attention to the most fragile.”
The Patriarch of Lisbon, Rui Valério, noted that Leo XIV “is the Pope that the Church and the world need at this moment.” “We are very pleased to receive the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope, adopting the name Leo XIV,” he also wrote in a message released in the late afternoon.
The 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected Pope by the College of Cardinals on the second day of the conclave following Pope Francisco’s death on April 21.
The new Pope, who assumed the name Leo XIV, was previously Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops since April 12, 2023. Considered a progressive or reformist, he was made cardinal by Pope Francisco in the Consistory of September 30, 2023.
Born in Chicago, United States, the new Pope has Spanish ancestry and Peruvian nationality and belongs to the Order of St. Augustine.
