Editorial of May 15, 2025
An American in Rome
Last week the world got a new pope. Although this doesn’t happen very often, it is an exciting moment for the Catholic Church, as it is as well for everyone. Our new pope’s predecessor, Francis, died last month, setting the stage for this particular conclave, which, it turned out, was a relatively easy one, lasting a mere two days (as had the conclave for Francis). Conclaves can go on and on; one such went on for two years, nine months and two days, ending on September 1, 1271, with the election of Gregory X, but it’s been nearly two centuries since a conclave has taken longer than a week. An election needs a two-thirds majority vote from the cardinals; in this case, with 133 cardinals eligible to vote, the magic number was 89.
Robert Francis Prevost, the new supercleric, has chosen to be called Pope Leo XIV, after Pope Leo XIII, whose papal service spanned the last quarter of the 19th century, and who is distinguished for writing, in 1891, “Rerum Novarum” (or, “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor”), which addresses the needs and dignity of the working class and was influential in the establishment of the church’s tradition of social justice. This is a good start.
Leo XIV, born in 1955 just outside Chicago, and his two older brothers are the products of a French/Italian father who was a school superintendent and a Spanish/Creole mother who was a librarian. The new pope attended school near Chicago’s South Side and in Holland, Michigan, where he garnered a Letter of Commendation for academic excellence, served as the editor-in-chief of the yearbook, and was a member of the honor roll, the student council, and the national honor society. He went on to Villanova to collect a BS in mathematics in 1977, then to the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago for a Master of Divinity, and on further to Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome for a doctorate in Canon Law, bestowed upon him in 1987. Villanova gave him an Honorary Degree in 2014. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and French, and he reads Latin and German. Really good stuff.
Before he finished his doctorate, Leo XIV went to Peru, where he lived and worked as a missionary for nearly two decades, often tending his flock by horseback. He became naturalized in 2014 and the following year was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo by Pope Francis. He was called to Rome in 2023 as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, where he selected and managed bishops globally, and in 2024 was created a cardinal. Although considered by many to be a dark horse for the papacy—being an American didn’t help—these latter roles as well as his close relationship with Francis and a propensity to take the middle of the road elevated his prominence and eligibility as a papal candidate. We are okay with all this, too.
Pope Leo XIV is the 267th pope. He is also the second pope, after Francis, to hail from the Americas, the first born in North America, the first to be a citizen of both the United States and Peru, the first from an English-speaking country since Adrian IV (1154-1159), the first born after World War II, the first to play Wordle, the first to text, and the first to root for the Chicago White Sox, the Villanova Wildcats, and the Alianza Lima soccer team. And there’s a tennis court for him in Vatican City. More good starting points.
He does have some important challenges: Not only does he face the task of shepherding the billion and a half Catholics of the world, he also must engage with the fractured American church (20 percent of Americans are Catholic), where the hierarchy, ordinary Catholics, an increasingly influential right-wing Catholic media ecosystem, and the reigning Catholic power in Washington (more than a third of the members of President Trump’s cabinet are Catholic, as are two-thirds of the Supreme Court) are at odds. In the last few months, Leo has disagreed with the militant vision of Christian power that the Trump administration has elevated, especially disagreeing with Vice-President Vance’s comments that Christian theology might justify turning away migrants and strangers in need. Perhaps the new pope will dig deep and dish out some hope.
Leo XIV is going to keep speaking out for justice, peace, refugees, the poor and the hungry. And perhaps he’ll come visit us. Which is all good.
