Leo XIV, one month in

First impressions . . .

This is another post in a short series on our new Pope, Leo XIV. So let me dive right in and give some of my first impressions of our new Pope:

His nature - calm and reserved Pope Leo seems very calm in nature, almost cool, or perhaps better said, reserved. I always loved Pope Francis for his informality and warmth, although those very qualities got him into trouble many times. What a pope may say for himself, like, “Who am I to judge?” can be taken for Church policy or doctrine when it is neither. I think Pope Leo will weigh his words more carefully.

His intelligence and ability to communicate - Pope Leo has degrees in Math and Philosophy from Villanova University and a graduate degree in Theology from the Catholic Theological Union. He also studied Canon Law in Rome. He speaks five languages fluently (English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese), and can read German and Latin. So, he will be able to express himself clearly and be much less likely to be misunderstood or mistranslated. Finally, he writes beautifully and gives thoughtful and inspiring sermons, as anyone who has listened to his initial homilies and statements can hear.

His experience - both missionary and managerial - Robert Prevost, now and forevermore to be known as Pope Leo XIV, has been a missionary, a prior, a lawyer, a Vatican department head, and a trusted partner to Pope Francis.

First, he served most of his adult life (22 years!) in Peru - as a missionary, a parish priest, a judge and judicial vicar, a seminary professor, and finally, a bishop. When he wasn’t serving in Peru, he was a vocations and missions director, a local prior and provincial, and the Prior General of the Augustinian Order. During this time, he would have gathered much experience listening and learning, setting priorities, managing scarce resources, assessing and assigning men. Finally, Pope Francis clearly saw his potential, making him the head of the Dicastery for Bishops, and finally a Cardinal.

All of this experience, and in a relatively young man for this position (69), equips him to be the spiritual leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church, the manager of the Curia/Vatican bureaucracy, and a moral witness to the world.

His Spiritual Formation - a “son of Augustine” - I have to admit, the fact that Leo is an Augustinian and calls himself a “son of Augustine” gives me pause. St. Augustine has had an outsized impact on the Catholic Faith. In fact, he is one of 33 men and 4 women who are recognized as Doctors of the Catholic Church, and responsible for much of Catholic Doctrine. My problem is that I don’t always agree with him. We have Augustine to thank for Original Sin, the necessity of infant baptism, and (I think) the Church’s preoccupation with sexual sins.

All that said, I cannot argue with his brilliance as a thinker and a writer. My favorite quote from Augustine is: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Beautiful!

His continuity with Francis - Although my immediate assessment is that Pope Leo will keep some of the reforms Pope Francis began, he is going to chart his own course. In public, unlike Francis, he wears the red mozzetta over his white cassock, the traditional cape of the Roman pontiff. And it seems he will live in the papal apartments instead of the Santa Marta guesthouse. What will his position be on my key issues – the Synod on Synodality, the role of the laity and especially women in the Church, and the authority of Bishops? All this is yet to be determined. I’ll be paying close attention and reporting back.

Meanwhile, I am intrigued. I have been reading reports of his first statements and addresses, watching his first Masses, keeping up on his early comings and goings, and his first decisions and appointments.

I even watched a short video of him chanting the Regina Caeli, the traditional Catholic prayer sung during the Easter Season. I was so struck by it that I downloaded a version of it onto my phone so I can listen to it during my morning and evening prayers. Here is a link if you’d like to listen along, and an English translation. I am enraptured with it.

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia
Queen of Heaven, be joyful, alleluia

Qui quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
For He whom you have humbly born for us, alleluia

Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia
Has arisen as He promised, alleluia

Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia
Offer now our prayer to God, alleluia

Me, listening to Gregorian chants in Latin! Who would have predicted that?

Pope Leo is going to be both a gift and a challenge to me! But isn’t that what we hope for in a spiritual leader? Someone who calls us to be the person God longs for us to be? Our true selves? Leo XIV wants us to be the people God longs for us to be, wherever it is we call home.

I’m sure that there will be times when he disappoints me, and I hope there will be times when he surprises me, in good ways. But most of all I hope he inspires me to grow in my understanding of my Faith and my ability to live it out fully.

He is the Holy Spirit’s choice to lead us at this moment in time. Holy Spirit, I trust in you.

Next week I am starting a new series called Catholic in America. How will having an American pope affect our country? Hope you stay tuned.