Send us not merely a pope, but a True Christian, one who knows not only the rubrics of sacrament, but the beat of justice, the kiss of mercy, the fire of radical compassion.

Let him be a greater light than even Pope Francis,
who bore the burdens of reform upon his weary shoulders.
Let this new pontiff not be merely pious, but prophetic
a vicar of Christ who speaks truth to empire, and bends the riches of Rome toward the poor and the perishing.

Send us Your greatest progressive soldier, O God. One who does not wield power to preserve it, but lays it down to lift the least.

Let them bless not merely the altar, but the refugee, the orphan, the imprisoned, the queer child cast out in Your name, the woman denied her dignity, the planet groaning beneath our greed.

This world burns, and the faithful weep. We need them.Your chosen vessel, anointed not by tradition alone, but by justice, by love, by Your eternal dream of peace.

So let the smoke ascend, O Maker of Heaven and Earth. Let it rise white and true. And let the one it names be Your answer to the cries of a wounded world.

Amen.