The response to the election of a new Pope is often: The King is dead, Long Live the King. The newly elected person defines what it means to be a Pope. So it will be with the Catholic response to the election of Pope Leo. We shall grieve Pope Francis and may hope that Pope Leo will continue to implement his vision, but he will do it in his own way and bring to it his own style. And Catholics generally and many others will wish him well.
In popular reporting about the Papacy the Pope is often defined by binary opposites. He is either progressive or conservative, traditional or innovative, rigorous or flexible, democratic or authoritarian, first or third world, inclusive or excluding. These categories are crude, often filled out by the commentator’s ragbag of prejudices. They are certainly unhelpful for anticipating a Pope’s or anyone’s behaviour. People naturally cut multiple paths against arbitrary boundaries. They are better understood by reflecting on their personal history and chosen symbols. Pope Francis’ decision to be named after Francis of Assisi and his motto, miserando et eligendo ('taking pity and choosing' from a work by St Bede) illuminated what drove him and where it might take him.
Pope Leo XIV properly remains a mystery. His background as an Augustinian Friar, however, may be significant. As a religious congregation Augustinian friars adopted the Monastic rule of St Augustine and were founded in the religious explosion of the early thirteenth century. They were an order of priests who spent their lives in pastoral commitments ministry. They committed themselves to live simply together monasteries under a local and international prior. Among the most notable members of Augustinian inspiration were Martin Luther and Nicholas Breakspear. The latter is the only Englishman to have become Pope.
Pope Leo’s Augustinian background suggests that he will bring to the Papacy a spiritual depth, a respect for faith and reason, and a desire to bring people together harmoniously rather than to polarise. His experience as Prior General of the Augustinians and as Bishop in a fractious Peru testifies to his understanding of how communities work and to his gifts of unifying and of making space. His experience has perhaps underlaid his strong endorsement of Pope Francis’s commitment to shape a universal Church that is committed to mission at all levels, and one in which all Catholics have agency.
'His choice of name suggests that Pope Leo will see his mission as universal both in encouraging peace in the world and in helping to strengthen the faith of local churches.'
His instinct for peace making rather than polarisation in governance which is such a rich part of the monastic tradition may have also contributed to his election as Pope. In previous years many people would have found it inconceivable that a United States Cardinal would be chosen as Pope. The political dominance and cultural narrowness of the United States Church would have ruled it out. Pope Leo, however, has a wide experience of the Church in a poor region of Peru and has also spent recent years with responsibility for Vatican departments. He is manifestly a citizen of the world and a gifted leader and administrator.
The full meaning of Pope Leo’s symbols remain to be discovered. His dress and address were unpretentiously episcopal. His choice of name evokes Pope Leo XIII whose nineteenth century Encyclical Letters on pressing social issues arising from the Industrial Revolution introduced modern Catholic reflection and teaching on social justice. We might expect Pope Leo to build on the work of recent Popes in that respect.
His choice of name also echoes the first Pope Leo, usually referred to as Leo the Great, who lived in turbulent times of invasions and tribal warfare in Italy as well as of fierce differences about faith particularly in the Eastern Church. Leo acted as legate to broker a non-violent entry into Rome by invading tribes. He also acted forcefully to ensure unity of faith in the West, expanding the authority of the successors of Peter as Bishop of Rome. His choice of name suggests that Pope Leo will see his mission as universal both in encouraging peace in the world and in helping to strengthen the faith of local churches. We might expect him to travel freely!
Finally Pope Leo’s motto in illo uno unum, which is almost untranslatable without its context, is drawn appropriately from one of St Augustine’s reflection on Psalm 127, stressing the value of each person and the unity of human beings in Christ. It expresses the human dignity that underpins Catholic social teaching on social issues and makes the good of each the responsibility of all.
Pope Leo’s beginning has signalled what we might expect from him. The signal is encouraging.
Andrew Hamilton is consulting editor of Eureka Street, and writer at Jesuit Social Services.
Main image: The newly elected Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV is seen for the first time from the Vatican balcony on May 8, 2025 in Vatican City, Vatican. Cardinal Robert Prevost will be known as Pope Leo XIV. White smoke was seen over the Vatican early this evening as the Conclave of Cardinals took just two days to elect the new Pontiff after the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)