In retrospect, Pope Leo XIV had everything in his favor.
The new Pontiff, whose choice on the second day of the conclave amazed the Catholic world, seemed to come from two places at the same time. He had been born and educated in the United States, a vital country for church finances. But he was also a missionary, pastor and bishop in Peru, where he directed the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a region of the world where the Church is thriving.
He had the seal of good papal administration of Pope Francis, his predecessor, who designated him in one of the highest positions of the Catholic Church. There, as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, directed the office that helped the pontiff to choose bishops and, therefore, to determine the future of the ecclesiastical institution.
He knew and was one of the enthusiastical cardinals of the powerful ecclesiastical bureaucracy, but reassured the liberals with their firm support to the one that could be considered the greatest change of Francisco, who intended that the Church decision -making process was more ascending and close to the faithful.
In uncertain times, he directed a global religious group, the order of St. Augustine, which required a sophisticated understanding of the world. His deep theological formation may have reassured conservatives concerned with doctrine. At 69, the new Pontiff is the ideal age for a papal candidate.
The main disadvantage was his American nationality, a decisive factor in past decades because it was considered to be perceived as being too aligned with the dominant superpower of the world. But in a world order that has changed significantly and in a church that every time sees beyond nationality, it seems that this did not care about the 133 cardinals who voted in the Sistine Chapel.
“He met all the requirements,” said John Allen, veteran Vatican analyst and author of the book Conclave. He added: “Geography and nationality ceased to be a voting issue.”
American Catholics of the entire political spectrum cite the choice of the name of León as a sign that they can favor their interests.
“When choosing the name of Leo XIV, he shows that he is committed to the social doctrine of the Church,” said Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and veteran Vatican analyst.
The most conservative Catholics see a different implication. “He takes his name from a Pope who firmly opposed the negative culture of moral relativism,” said Ashley McGuire, a member of the Catholic Association.
After a dozen years of Francisco’s shaking to the Church, the Cardinal College wanted, apparently, to continue advancing in the direction of Francisco, but with less surroundings and clashes. They chose a peaceful pastor, moderate but resolved in his defense of the doctrine, with a deep Roman experience and government skills.
“We must seek together how to be a missionary church, having bridges, dialoguing, always open to receive everyone with open arms, like this square, open to all, whom you need our charity, our presence, of dialogue, of love,” said Pope León in Italian from the balcony of the Basilica of San Pedro in his inaugural speech on Thursday as the leader of the 1,400 million Catholics in the world.
Only a few hours after his choice, it was impossible to know how León would govern. But his first words, and the name he adopted, gave some clues. The Vatican said that his name remembered the previous León, a Pope of the late nineteenth century that helped establish the Catholic tradition of social justice of the Church. He also appointed Francisco, saying: “Thank you, Pope Francis!”, And causing a burst of applause of the crowd.
He said the word “Sinodality”, which means little or nothing for the profane ears, but that within the Church says a lot about its intention to carry out Francisco’s vision of an institution that governs less from Rome and that consults its faithful, gathering bishops and laity, including women, to make the great decisions.
He talked about peace and being close to those who suffer, reflecting their pastoral sense, but also returned to the Vatican tradition when appearing on the balcony with a clothing that Francisco had stripped.
While the Americans of the crowd rejoiced for the appointment of one of theirs – “Usa! Usa!”, They chanted some – and received the congratulations of the Italians, who seemed bewildered by the unknown face in the balcony, Francisco’s supporters expressed a sigh of relief.
The favorite to happen to Francisco had been the Secretary of State of the Church, Pietro Parolin who, although he was an experienced diplomat with a distinguished career in the church, had no pastoral experience. In the weeks and days before the conclave, Cardinal Parolin’s critics, including Italian cardinals, spoke with admiration of other candidates, such as Cardinal Prevost, suggesting that support for Cardinal Parolin was softer than expected.
But when the white smoke left the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on the second day of voting, many liberals feared that the voters had joined around Cardinal Parolin, a bureaucrat who feared that he would absorb all the fresh air that Francisco had insufflated to the church.
Cardinal Parolin went out to the balcony, but still dressed in Cardinal Red. He smiled easily, as a background figure for a new pontiff that the liberals believed that he would protect Francisco’s legacy.
In October 2024, Cardinal Prevost sounded very similar to Francisco when he declared Vatican News That a “bishop should not be a little prince sitting in his kingdom, but is authentically called to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them and to suffer with them.”
Vatican analysts expect León to clearly defend immigrants, the poor and the people exploited by the great powers, although perhaps in a less provocative way than Francisco. He is considered pastoral and, therefore, open to listen to the concerns of a wide variety of Catholics. But, at least for now, he is considered little prone to introduce changes in the doctrine of the Church on issues such as the ordination of women such as deacons, birth control and the situation of homosexuals in the Church.
Alberto Melloni, an ecclesiastical historian, said that although Leon was clearly in Francisco’s mold regarding his vision of a church closer to the people and governed more from backward, in hot social issues, “he did not put his hands.”
But, as Francisco demonstrated, people change when they become a potato: in his native Argentina he was considered a conservative cardinal.
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In a 2023 interview with Catholic News Service, León, who was then a cardinal, stressed that clergy respond to the problems of their parishes reflecting on their oath of “living and working in communion with the Holy Father.”
Now that is him.