Gentle Lion

CONSIDERING the copious amount of Church news that I read, my prediction skills when it comes to papal conclaves are woefully imprecise. In April, when my children asked me who I thought the next pope would be, I told them, “I’m not sure, but the one thing we can count on is that he won’t be an American.” The idea that the College of Cardinals would never elect an American pope was conventional wisdom in many circles of the Catholic commentariat. The late Cardinal Francis George, former Archbishop of Chicago, once quipped that the only way the Catholic Church would have an American pope was if the United States ceased to be a global superpower. The basic idea was that because the US possesses a disproportionate amount of geopolitical influence, Church leaders would be reluctant to elect a pontiff who hails from that country. American Catholics already tend to be a vocal bunch within the Church, so it might be imprudent – or so the thinking went – to grant them an even larger platform by tabbing one of their own to serve as supreme pastor of the universal Church.

Bob from Chicago

You can imagine my surprise, then, when on May 8 Robert Francis Prevost – born and raised in Chicago – emerged on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and was introduced to the world as the 267th successor of St. Peter. I was not the only Catholic writer who was frantically doing research to learn more about the man who would now be known as Leo XIV. American Catholics justifiably felt a sense of elation upon learning that “Bob from Chicago” had assumed the highest office in the Church. Overall, the response to Leo’s election has been enthusiastic. That seems especially to be the case in English-speaking regions of the world, where the faithful are for the first time experiencing a pope whose native tongue is their own. While we are still getting to know our newly elected pontiff, there are some notable indicators that signal what kind of pastor he will be as he grows into the all-important role of shepherding the people of God.

Underlying continuity

As is customary for a new pope, Leo XIV has expressed gratitude and respect for his immediate predecessor. In his inaugural address on the balcony of St. Peter’s, Leo specifically thanked Pope Francis for inspiring Catholics “to build bridges, with dialogue… uniting us all to be one people, always in peace.” A couple of days later, during his first trip outside the Vatican since being elected pope, Leo paid a surprise visit to the Basilica of St. Mary Major to pray at the tomb of his predecessor. While there, he placed a white rose on the tomb and expressed his desire to continue with the priorities of Pope Francis. 

Naturally, commentators have picked up on these gestures to explain the direction that Leo’s pontificate is likely to take. Commonweal contributor Austen Ivereigh has especially played up this comparison. In a May 25 article for that magazine, he noted that after Prevost’s arrival in Rome in 2023 to head the Dicastery for Bishops, Prevost and Francis used to meet for two hours every Saturday morning in order to discuss ecclesiastical affairs and to discern together the best direction for the Church. These weekly meetings, Ivereigh writes, were “deeply formative for Prevost, who was struck by Francis’ extraordinary capacity for discernment, as well as his radical commitment to God’s mercy.” Ivereigh, it’s clear, anticipates that Leo’s papacy will be characterized by an underlying continuity with the pastoral vision of Francis.

Subtle shift

Perhaps Ivereigh is right. However, as a priest at my parish in Des Moines cautioned, “we should grant Leo the space to be his own person.” And he will be, I’m sure, if for no other reason than that no two pontificates are exactly the same. Some journalistic observers, in fact, have already noted subtle gestures that signal changes in emphasis from the pastoral style of Francis. For example, whereas Francis was known for donning simple white robes during his time as pope, Leo has quietly embraced the distinct vestments, such as the ornamental mozzetta, worn by previous popes. Similarly, Leo appears to favor more formal liturgical expressions than his predecessor, as indicated by Leo’s decision to sing the Regina Caeli in Latin during his first Sunday Angelus, and then following up with the full Apostolic Blessing in Latin. That same week, the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music augmented these pastoral signs by launching a new initiative called “Let’s Sing With the Pope,” the goal of which is to teach the faithful Latin plainchant of the ordinary responses that are sung at Mass.

While it would be wrongheaded to construe these decisions as somehow a critique of Francis, they do suggest a subtle shift in how Leo will conduct himself as the most recognizable leader of the global Catholic community. Under the previous pontificate, some Church observers mistakenly inferred that embracing Francis’ pastoral vision of “a poor Church for the poor” demanded eschewing traditional forms of liturgical expression, including some of the more ornate vestments that are associated with those forms. During the early weeks of his papacy, Leo has preached on the themes of being a merciful and listening Church – commitments that were dear to the heart of his predecessor – while at the same time celebrating the liturgy in a style that is more reminiscent of Pope Benedict XVI. By doing so, Leo is demonstrating to his flock that a heartfelt concern for the poor can coherently be wed to traditional liturgical piety and a due solemnity in the celebration of the Mass.

Leo XIII

Beyond any questions of style, each pope’s primary task is to boldly proclaim the Gospel for the men and women of his time. As his exemplar for this calling, Prevost looks to Leo XIII, who reigned as pope from 1878 until his death in 1903. In his first formal meeting with the cardinals who elected him, Prevost shared that he took the name Leo XIV for a few different reasons, “but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day,” Leo continued, “the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”

Pope Leo XIII was known for his staunch defense of worker’s rights and fair wages amidst the vast inequities that emerged during the industrial revolution of the 19th century. By taking the name Leo, our new pope is communicating that he’s keenly aware of similar inequities that are being accentuated by the advent of the digital revolution, with all of its attendant ethical issues. The pace of modern life is sometimes dizzying, and while digital technologies have enabled instantaneous communication across vast distances, more and more of our contemporaries are plagued by feelings of anxiety and loneliness. In such circumstances, we need a steady leader who understands the signs of the times and preaches the Gospel without compromise. I’m hopeful that Leo can be that kind of leader.

No tame lion

In a May article for First Things, theologian Ulrich Lehner riffed on the idea that the name Leo means “lion” and has strong associations with strength and regality. Lehner wrote that he doesn’t think Pope Leo XIV will be a tame lion. Instead, he predicts that the first American pope “will be a roaring lion just like Leo XIII.” He will do so, Lehner anticipates, by prophetically preaching against the social injustices of our time while also providing “clarity in a time of theological confusion.” Based on what I have witnessed thus far from our new pope, I share Lehner’s sentiments. I also welcome Leo’s counsel that the Church’s proper mission is to introduce people to the nature of mystery as an antidote to the spectacle that the world proffers. These pastoral priorities point to a spiritual leader who has one eye on the challenges of our era and the other on the rich treasures of Catholic tradition. In Leo, we have a pastor who seems eager to practice mercy, but equally ready to confront the evils of our age. That’s the kind of lion I can get behind.