Hours after Pope Leo XIV — the new leader of the Catholic Church — appeared on the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Thursday, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent the pontiff a message of goodwill.
“On behalf of the leaders and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we extend heartfelt prayers and greetings to Pope Leo XIV,” wrote President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring. “This significant moment in time for the Catholic Church is a reminder of the enduring importance of faith to people everywhere.”
The leaders noted that “as fellow followers of Jesus Christ,” they look forward to continued opportunities to work together to bless the lives of God’s children everywhere.
“May we strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ to care for the poor and needy, become peacemakers and create a world where faith and goodness can flourish,” they wrote.
Pope Leo XIV is the successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at age 88. The conclave to choose a new leader began on Wednesday.
White smoke appeared at the Vatican earlier today, signaling that the 133 cardinals sequestered in the Sistine Chapel had made a selection. A little more than an hour later, Pope Leo XIV greeted the public.
The First Presidency also issued a statement on April 21 following Pope Francis’ passing.
“We join the world in mourning the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. His courageous and compassionate leadership has blessed countless lives. We extend our heartfelt condolences to all who looked to him for inspiration and counsel. As the world pauses to remember his example of forgiveness and service, we feel deep gratitude for the goodness of a life well lived and rejoice in the hope of a glorious resurrection made possible through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.”
The Church of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church have worked together for many years — promoting religious liberty and the family and caring for the poor and responding to disasters.
After visiting the Vatican in 2019, President Nelson said the faith’s share a “mutual concern for the people who suffer throughout the world and want to relieve human suffering.” They also both promote the “importance of religious liberty, the importance of the family, our mutual concern for the youth [and] for the secularization of the world and the need for people to come to God and worship him, pray to him and have the stability that faith in Jesus Christ will bring in their lives,” he said.
During the visit to the Vatican, President Nelson met with Pope Francis in what was the first meeting of its kind between leaders of the two faiths. Following the March 9, 2019, meeting, President Nelson talked about the experience.
“We had a most cordial, unforgettable experience with His Holiness. He was most gracious and warm and welcoming. What a sweet, wonderful man he is, and how fortunate the Catholic people are to have such a gracious, concerned, loving and capable leader,” he said.
In addition to that meeting, other Latter-day Saint leaders have participated in interfaith dialogue at the Vatican, including President Eyring, who shook hands with Pope Francis during a Vatican summit on marriage in 2014, according to ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
In 2010, the late President M. Russell Ballard visited Catholic leaders at the Vatican. In 1995, the late President Gordon B. Hinckley gave a copy of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism to the Vatican Library.
Catholic and Latter-day Saint leaders have also met in many other places. For example, in 2010 the late Cardinal Francis George (1937–2015), then the leader of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, spoke at Brigham Young University and met with Latter-day Saint apostles. Apostles have discussed issues of common ground with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York. And several Catholic leaders have made visits to Utah. This includes Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville (then the president of the USCCB), who visited Temple Square in 2016, and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, who has spoken at Brigham Young University several times. In 2015, Archbishop Chaput invited Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to share principles Latter-day Saints employ to strengthen families during the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.
In Utah, the Church has cultivated a strong relationship in recent decades with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City. President Ballard and Elder Christofferson joined Catholics in Utah for the installation of Bishop Oscar A. Solis, who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2017 to lead Catholics in Utah. President Ballard also attended the installation mass for Archbishop John C. Wester in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Archbishop Wester, Bishop Solis’s predecessor, was the Catholic bishop in Utah for eight years.