Since the start of the conclave, the world had been asking: what name would the next pope take? When it was announced that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost would be the new Successor of Peter, it was also revealed that he would be called Pope Leo XIV. But why?
In the history of the Church, it has become tradition for popes to choose a name that reflects their mission.
On Saturday morning, he revealed to the cardinals that there are many reasons behind his decision to be the 14th pope to bear the name Leo. Among them, he said he “felt called” to continue the path of the Second Vatican Council, also embraced by Pope Francis. He cited the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, mentioning:
- A return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation
- The missionary conversion of the entire Christian community
- Growth in collegiality and synodality
- Attention to the sensus fidei, especially in its most genuine and inclusive forms, such as popular piety
- Loving care for the marginalized and the excluded
- Courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in all its diversity
To follow this path, he revealed that the main reason for choosing the name Leo XIV was:
“Pope Leo XIII, in fact, with the historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum, addressed the social question in the context of the first major industrial revolution; today the Church offers everyone her treasury of social doctrine to respond to a new industrial revolution and the developments of artificial intelligence, which bring new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and work.”
Finally, the Holy Father encouraged the cardinals in their mission with a quote from Saint Paul VI:
“May it pass through the whole world like a great flame of faith and love, inflaming all people of good will, lighting the paths of mutual cooperation, and drawing upon humanity—now and forever—the abundance of divine favor, the very strength of God, without whom nothing is valid, nothing is holy.”
Socorro Mouta
