His face betrayed none of his emotion. When Pope Leo XIV first stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the roar of the crowd hit him like a wave. For those first three minutes before the world, the weight of what lay ahead—the hopes of more than a billion Catholics—seemed to land on his shoulders in real time.
But when he spoke, addressing the 100,000 people gathered to celebrate his election, his gentle, steady voice conveyed not just awe but calm resolve. Draped in the red mozzetta and stole, the newly elected pope appeared to slip into his new role with a natural ease.
In selecting the former bishop of Chiclayo, one of Peru’s largest dioceses, the cardinals seemed to have found the “pastor” they had described during their pre-conclave meetings. And in a world shaken by war, he wasted no time setting the tone for his papacy: “To all people, everywhere, across all nations: peace be with you,” declared the man who, just hours earlier, had been Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. “This is the peace of the Risen Christ—a peace that disarms, a peace that is disarming. Humble. Steadfast. It comes from God, who loves each of us unconditionally.”
A bridge between North and South
Leo XIV defies easy categorization. He is the first pope from the United States—and the first from Peru. Among the American cardinals, he may be the least “American” in outlook: soft-spoken, reserved, and shaped far more by his decades of missionary and pastoral work in Latin America than by his life in the United States, which accounts for only a third of his years. Often described as the most “Latino” of American clerics, he became a naturalized Peruvian and is seen as a bridge between continents, cultures, and ecclesial realities.
In Peru, he made ministry to the poor and migrants a cornerstone of his work. “He’s not one to back down if the cause is just,” said Cardinal Joseph Tobin, a fellow American elector.
Where he will stand in relation to President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance remains to be seen. But the articles he shared on X (formerly Twitter) while serving as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops suggest clear opposition to their immigration policies and reveal a deep concern for displaced and vulnerable people—a continuity with his predecessor, Pope Francis. Will he confront the U.S. administration directly? Not likely, said Cardinal Timothy Dolan: “He wants to build bridges between nations.” The New York archbishop added, “I don’t think anyone saw him as a counterweight.”
He is, instead, seen as a unifier—an essential quality for a church grappling with polarization. In 2013, the cardinals looked “to the ends of the earth” and found Pope Francis. In 2025, they chose one of their own, but with roots stretching across three continents. Born in Chicago, Prevost speaks five languages—English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and French—and hails from a richly multicultural background. His mother, Mildred Agnes Martinez, a librarian, was of Spanish, Creole, and Haitian descent. His father, Louis Marius Prevost, a school principal and WWII Navy officer, was the son of an Italian father and a French mother from Normandy.
A Cautious Reformer
With Pope Francis having laid the groundwork for the Synod on Synodality through 2028, Leo XIV emerges as its clear heir. More than a supporter, he is an advocate of synodality as the Church’s path forward. From the balcony of St. Peter’s, he called for “a synodal Church.” A year earlier, he told Vatican News: “A bishop is not a little prince ruling his domain, but a humble man close to the people he serves, walking and suffering with them to better live the Gospel.”
In Peru, he appointed women to leadership roles and supported Francis’ reforms to include women in church governance, such as naming three women to the office that selects new bishops. But he firmly opposed the ordination of women, as priests or deacons, warning it would risk “clericalizing” their vocation. In his view, laypeople—men and women—should live out their baptismal calling without seeking clerical status.
On polarizing issues, Leo XIVhas been measured but clear. Regarding the blessing of same-sex couples, he struck a careful balance during the 2024 Synod, urging national bishops’ conferences to discern the issue within their local contexts. In doing so, he hinted at a decentralized, synodal approach to church governance, one that respects doctrinal unity while allowing for pastoral adaptation.
It’s a middle ground that reflects his vision for a universal—but not uniform—church, capable of holding together diverse geographies and ideologies.
An Augustinian pope to unite opposites
Once again, the cardinals turned to a religious order for leadership. After a Jesuit pope, they chose an Augustinian, deeply shaped by a spirituality that emphasizes unity. Leo XIV retained as his papal motto a phrase from St. Augustine: In Illo uno unum—“In the One, may we be one.”
He also brings proven leadership. Before leading the bishops’ dicastery, he served as Prior General of the Augustinian order for 12 years (2001–2013). “He’s a man who knows how to make decisions—but always by working in a team,” said Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, one of the electors.
After Pope Francis’s often confrontational governance style, many in the Vatican welcome the arrival of a more measured, conciliatory figure. “We’ve elected a calm pope,” Cardinal Dolan said, having strongly supported Prevost’s candidacy.
Several electors noted Pope Leo’s successful tenure as prefect of one of the Curia’s most important departments, despite the tensions that marked his predecessor’s final years. In a private meeting on May 10, the pope expressed his desire for “a kind of shared leadership with the College of Cardinals,” inviting their “advice” and “proposals.”
Deeply spiritual and grounded in prayer, Leo XIV is described by the current vicar general of his order, Father Joseph Farrell, as “very humble and very intelligent—a man who thinks before he acts, listens before he speaks, and always prays before starting his day.” Every morning, before going to his office at the dicastery, Prevost would first stop at his order’s general house for lauds and Mass. “We would always find him already there, sitting in silence, praying.”
Reproduced with permission by La Croix International.
