Pope Leo XIV, the American Robert Prevost, said “Peace be with you” in his first words as pope, offering a message of peace and dialogue “without fear.”
In his first words as Pope Francis’ successor, uttered from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, Leo emphasized a message of peace, dialogue and missionary evangelization. He wore the traditional red cape of the papacy — a cape that Francis had eschewed on his election in 2013.
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WATCH HEREHe spoke in Italian and then switched to Spanish, recalling his many years spent as a missionary and then archbishop of Chiclayo, Peru. He thanked the city of Chiclayo in his first papal address.
The last pope to take the name Leo was Leo XIII, an Italian who led the church from 1878 to 1903. That Leo softened the church’s confrontational stance toward modernity, especially science and politics, and laid the foundation for modern Catholic social thought, most famously with his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which addressed workers’ rights and capitalism.
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SIGN UP Kurt Martens, who teaches at The Catholic University of America in Washington, said Robert Prevost’s choice of the name of Leo XIV, referencing XIII and his foundational encyclical on social teaching — suggests continuity with the church’s direction under Pope Francis.
Martens said references in Leo XIV’s speech to embracing the whole world as well as synodality are more signs that the new pope will continue to focus on the poor and those on the margins of societies.
“I think a lot of us had a question mark when they elected an American, and then he selected the name Pope Leo XIV,” said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, the chair of religious studies at Manhattan University. “It really means to me he will continue the work of Leo XXIII.”
The name “is a deep sign of commitment to social issues," said Imperatori-Lee. “I think this (new) pope is saying something about social justice, by choosing this name, that it is going to be a priority. He is continuing a lot of Francis’ ministry.”
As Cardinal, Prevost was known to have aligned closely with Pope Francis’ vision for the Church, with a focus on outreach to migrants and impoverished people.
Pope Francis clearly had his eye on Prevost and in many ways saw him as his heir apparent. He brought Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 to serve as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church.
During his time in that role he presided over one of Francis' most revolutionary reforms when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pontiff.
In January, Francis elevated him into the senior ranks of cardinals. As a result, Prevost had a prominence going into the conclave that few other cardinals had.
the cardinal electors "wanted someone who shared (Francis)' commitment to synodality and focus on the world's poor."
"For now we can only state, but state with certainty, that the cardinals have chosen someone committed to the reforms Pope Francis began," .
Leo was formerly the prior general, or leader, of the Order of St. Augustine, which was formed in the 13th century as a community of “mendicant” friars — dedicated to poverty, service and evangelization.
The requirements and ethos of the order are traced to the fifth century St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the theological and devotional giants of early Christianity.
The Order of St. Augustine has a presence in about 50 countries, according to its . Its ethos includes a contemplative spirituality, communal living and service to others.
A core value in their rule is to “live together in harmony, being of one mind and one heart on the way to God.”
Joseph Farrell, Vicar General of the Order of St. Augustine, spoke of Pope Leo’s character and described him as “humble” and a great role model.
Speaking to 온라인카지노사이트 News' Tom Llamas last week in Rome, the archbishop of Philadelphia, Nelson Jesus Pérez, said his colleague was "a great gift to the church and the world."
The new pope is a “wonderful, gentle, profound man of God,” Pérez said.
Leo had maintained an X account, much of it relatively standard Catholic fare but occasionally edging into politics.
, he shared a post from the National Catholic Reporter, repeating the headline: "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others," in which in a Fox News interview that Christians prioritize loving people close to them before those from other countries.
Some conservative commentators have already seized on his posts, 온라인카지노사이트 News reported. Laura Loomer, a far-right commentator who has been influential with Trump, published a series of posts decrying Leo's politics. "Just another Marxist puppet in the Vatican," she wrote.
Prevost had been a leading candidate except for his nationality. There had long been a taboo against a U.S. pope, given the geopolitical power already wielded by the United States in the secular sphere. But Prevost, a Chicago native, was seemingly eligible also because he’s a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru.
