Hi, I'm Edwards III, and welcome to all things Catholic, where real faith meets real life.

There's a lot of excitement about our new Holy Father, Pope Leo the 14th, and everyone's got a hot

take on the Pope and who he is and how he's going to lead and what he's

going to do and what we can expect. And what I want to do in today's show is I want to draw in his

actual words. I want to take a look at what he's actually saying and what he's actually doing

in these early days of his pontificate. In terms of what we can expect long term, I think we should just humbly admit it's too early to tell. And at the same

time, my friends, there are a number of things that he's saying and doing in these first five days

that I'm really excited about. And yeah, they're just initial impressions, but they might be

impressions that are indications of what is to come. And that's what I want to take a look at

in this week's podcast. So welcome to all

things Catholic. I'm your host, Edward Sre. And I've been back from lots of travel. Beth and I were

in Rome, and we got into Rome just in time for Pope Francis's funeral mass. We got the ride at the

beginning of the mass. It was very moving to be there with so many, over 200,000 people from all over the world there at

the funeral. And we got to pray at his tomb later that week at St. Mary Majors. That was exciting

and remember him and to remember his legacy and to continue to pray for his soul. And in this

inter-Ranium period, we were able to pray as there was anticipation. We saw so many cardinals

there in Rome and, you know, they're all gathering and discussing and getting to know each other. And, you know, we were able to pray as there was anticipation. We saw so many cardinals there in Rome and, you know, they're all gathering and discussing and getting to know each other. And, you know, we were able to pray for the upcoming conclave. We weren't in Rome for the conclave. Beth came back to the states. I ended up going to France, where we had previously planned a retreat pilgrimage experience for some of the focus team directors. And we

were there in Lizzou, walking in the footsteps of the great St. Torres. And I remember,

one of the focus missionaries asked me, Dutch tree, how long do you think this conclave will go?

And I said, oh, I'm bracing myself. You know, the last conclave was really short. I think

this could be, you know, several days. And I was wrong. I was wrong. I left

the retreat. They were still having one extra day. And I took a train from Lizzio down to Paris because I was

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