YONKERS, N.Y. (PIX11) -- Friday marked the first full day of service for Pope Leo XIV, the first American to be elevated to the papacy.
However, the pontiff's international and multi-ethnic ties are the source of much interest at the very ethnically and culturally diverse seminary here, which serves the Tri-state region, which is itself multicultural and international.
St. Joseph's Seminary attracts students from around the world and has also attracted two of the last three popes.
A portrait of Pope Leo XIV was set up right outside of the seminary's main chapel minutes after the pontiff was officially named on Thursday afternoon. It was a reminder of some of the strong ties the seminary has with the pope, even though he's 4,280 miles away. One of the biggest connections involves one of the main study programs at St. Joseph's. It's linked to the Angelicum, the church's Roman university, as Father John Cush, the admissions director at St. Joseph's, pointed out.
"The Holy Father has his doctorate in canon law from the Angelicum in Rome, as well," Fr. Cush said in an interview. "That's our connection."
Another important tie to the new pontiff is that St. Joseph's was founded under the leadership of Pope Leo XIII, the last pope before this one to take on that name Leo. Leo XIII was a vocal advocate for workers and other people struggling economically and socially. Cush said that seminarians at St. Joseph's, which is also often referred to by the name of the neighborhood where it's located, Dunwoodie, minister to the same groups for which Leo XIII advocated.
Cush also said that the new pope, LeoXIV, has served many of the same populations during his four decades of ministry prior to his papacy. That shared mission, said Cush, could help attract the pope to Dunwoodie, just like two other pontiffs.
"We would be so happy," he said, "if Pope Leo XIV would come and visit us here, in whatever capacity."
He referenced the other visiting popes, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI, who have visited in the last 30 years.
Two marble tablets in the seminary's entry hall commemorate the two visits, and in the library of St. Joseph's, a throne in which both visiting popes sat during their visits is also on display.
For Leo XIV to also occupy that holy seat is something that many of the seminarians wish for. Franklin Anyanechi said that it's because of the new pontiff's broad appeal.
"This is a pope we can all identify with," said Anyanechi, who's completed three years of seminary studies, with three more to go. "This inclusiveness," he said is what Louis XIV has preached in both his first public address on Thursday, and in his homily at Friday mass for cardinals in Rome. "Everyone is welcome to the church," said Anyanechi.
He's affiliated with the Diocese of Albany, but was born and raised in Nigeria. He talked about how the now-pope visited his country in 2016 as part of his ministry with the Augustinian Order. Anyanechi also talked about how genealogists have now shown that the pope's family has African Creole roots in Louisiana.
Anyanechi said that it's representative of the universality of the new leader of the universal church. "[It's a] connection to every aspect of the society," he said.
Officially, while Pope Leo XIV has traveled widely, and lived in Peru for two decades, he is a citizen of three nations: The United States, Peru, and now, Vatican City, as its sovereign leader.
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