YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – Catholic leaders across Africa are expressing excitement at the election of the first American as a pope.

Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected May 8 as Pope Leo XIV, an election that defies all prognostics as to who would be elected, which included the names of two cardinals from Africa.

Far from being disappointed that the 267th leader of the Catholic Church would again not be an African, bishops across the continent have told Crux that Pope Leo XIV promises to be exactly the kind of pope the Church needs.

Responding from Dakar in Senegal, where he is attending a meeting of the Episcopal Conferences of West Africa, Nigerian Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of the Abuja Archdiocese told Crux that he was “excited that we have a new pope, and a well-chosen pope at that.”

The archbishop noted that there were speculations and theories as to who would replace Francis as pope, but at the end, ”it was what the Holy Spirit wanted for the Church and the world that came to be. We are grateful that we have a new pope who greeted us with the words of peace, a peace agenda I believe he will pursue rigorously during his pontificate. He is, a man of peace and unity.”

The Nigerian prelate highlighted Leo’s vast leadership experience: He was former Prior General of the Augustinian Order, a missionary, a Bishop in Peru, Prefect for the Congregation of Bishops, and a prayerful and very humble person.

“I believe he is well equipped to lead the 1.4 billion Catholics, and his voice and moral authority will help to shape our contemporary world,” Kaigama told Crux.

“He looks calm and friendly,” he added.

Nigerian Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto noted that the choice of Leo XIV as the name of the new pope bears a special significance.

“Pope Leo XIV was famous for his epic Encyclical, Rerum Novarum in 1891,” Kukah said.

“It would be right to assume that taking the name, Leo XIV should signal where he wishes to go,” he said.

The bishop further explained that Leo combines a trinity of identities: An American, a Peruvian, and then an Augustinian.

“St Augustine, an African, is considered one of the Church’s greatest scholars. So, taken together, we see the possibility of a continuation of the social engagement started by Pope Francis. Rerum Novarum attacked the injustices that ravaged workers and the inhumanity of capitalist exploitation in the late 20th century,” he told Crux.

Johan Viljoen, Director of Denis Hurley Peace Institute of the South Africa Bishops’ Conference, noted that Leo is “a deeply compassionate person,” and welcomed the pope’s first words that highlighted the idea that the Church is for everyone.

The bishops also weighed in on what they believe a Leo pontificate would mean for Africa.

Kukah said he knows Augustinians in Nigeria who say then-Father Francis Prevost – now Pope Leo XIV – “had Africa at heart and that he did so much for the Church in Africa.”

Kaigama noted that the exponential growth in Catholicism in Africa means the future of the Church lies on the continent.

“Our new pope knows this because he has been to different parts of Africa many times, especially to Nigeria. We just want him to be a father to us all who inspires peace and unity, and to raise his strong voice in support of Africa and Africans who suffer many forms of domination, discrimination, and exploitation especially at the economic and political levels. I believe he will be a father, a friend and a brother to Africans, and indeed to all made in the image and likeness of God,” the archbishop said.

However, Kukah cautioned against Africa seeking favors, because who becomes pope isn’t synonymous to African politics “where ethnicity and other distinctions have ravaged our nation and enthroned corruption.”

“We should focus on working hard to effectively change the faces of injustice and corruption that is producing so much violence and destroying our continent. The pope cannot do much rather than raising a moral voice. The Catholic Church must urgently reposition itself and face the challenge of engaging the structures of injustice in our continent,” the bishop told Crux.

Ultimately, Pope Leo XIV will be what God wants him to be, Kukah said.

“These are very exciting times of promise, hope, renewal for the Catholic Church. I am so excited,” he said.