MAY 10 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Friday (May 9) extended his congratulations to Catholics in Malaysia and around the world following after Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th pope by 133 cardinals in a secret conclave on Thursday, becoming the first pontiff from the United States
Prevost is now Pope Leo XIV.
In a Facebook post, Anwar said the occasion marked a significant new chapter for the global Catholic community, and expressed confidence that it would bring renewed purpose and inspiration.
“Malaysia values its ties with the Holy See, and we look forward to continued engagement rooted in mutual respect, dialogue, and our shared commitment to peace and human dignity,” he said.
You may wonder what the Holy See is.
The Holy See is the government of the Roman Catholic Church. It is led by the Pope as the bishop of Rome.
The word “See” comes from the Latin sedes, meaning “seat”, which refers to the episcopal chair occupied by a bishop and the area over which he has responsibility.
US President Donald Trump speaks while signing an executive order on legislation relating to household consumer energy policies, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 9, 2025. — AFP pic
As the church’s central government, the Holy See makes decisions on issues of faith and morality for Catholics throughout the world.
The Holy See resides in Vatican City, which is an independent state established in 1929 to allow the pope to exercise his universal authority.
It also functions as a nonterritorial institution whose authority endures even when there is no pope, during sede vacant (“empty seat”), such as the interim between a pope’s death and the election of his successor.
Sede vacant recently happened upon the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, and the election of Prevost as Pope Leo XIV.
During sede vacant the White House posted an AI-generated photo of President Donald Trump depicted as the pope, days after he joked that he’d “like to be pope.”
The image — which first appeared on Trump’s Truth Social account — was posted days before Catholic cardinals were set to begin a conclave to elect the next pope.
The post of the AI-generated image sparked widespread social media response, with some users defending it as a joke and others strongly denouncing the image.
A joke?
Vatican City is a sovereign state. The Holy See is the government. The pope is the leader.
Imagine a head of state of a sovereign state depicted as the head of government of another sovereign state.
It’s no joke, man.
