Inside the new pope’s first 100 days
It would not have been easy for anyone to step into the shoes of the fisherman after Pope Francis, just as it was not easy for Benedict XVI to follow St. John Paul II. But Leo XIV has done so with remarkable ease in his first 100 days as pope.
This was facilitated both by his humility and by his fluency in English, Spanish and Italian. By nature, Leo is a rather reserved person, but he also has a spontaneous side that has begun to emerge in his interaction with the crowds, as we saw at the Jubilee of Youth. Although from his first appearance on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, he has tended to stick to prepared texts, he has also begun making off-the-cuff remarks as he becomes more relaxed in his interaction with audiences.
The first native English speaker to become pope since Adrian IV (1154-59), Leo quickly endeared himself to the Italian public, who hardly knew him before his election, through his fluency in the language of Dante, his humility and the fact that he smiles a lot. His command of English and Spanish, on the other hand, has allowed him to communicate freely in the two languages most spoken in the Catholic world and has facilitated his conversation with religious and political leaders.
In these first three months of his papacy, he has exuded an internal peace and serenity. He seems happy to be pope, just as Francis was. He has adopted a nonstop rhythm of work, giving many private and public audiences and participating in Jubilee Year events. At the same time, he has shown an internal freedom of spirit by doing things his way, including by taking a vacation at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo and not hugging people or posing for selfies, as Francis often did.
While he is different in style from Francis, the American-born pope has already stated clearly—in his address to the cardinals on May 10 and in subsequent speeches—that he is determined to continue moving forward along the paths opened by his predecessor as he sought to further implement the Second Vatican Council. He wants to promote unity in the church—his episcopal motto, taken from St. Augustine, is “In Illo Uno Unum (“In the One we are one”)—and in that way to contribute to overcoming polarization and division in the world.
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Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.
With thanks to America and Gerard O’Connell, where this article originally appeared.
