About Robert Francis Prevost:
Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1955, Robert Francis Prevost is an Augustinian who holds a doctorate in canon law. Our new Holy Father is an alumnus of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He was created cardinal on September 30, 2023 by Pope Francis. The Augustinians are known as a teaching order as well as a missionary order.
In the past he served in Chiclayo, Peru, where he was known both as a bridge-builder and for his outreach to the poor. He holds dual citizenship of both the U.S. and Peru.
More recently, he held the office of Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America since 2023.
In his first public appearance as Pope Leo XIV he quoted Saint Augustine: “For you I am a Bishop, with you I am a Christian“.
Perhaps not so well known as other candidates….and certainly much less mentioned (if at all), he becomes the first Pope from the U.S.A.
Although he is de-facto Pope already by virtue of his election to the papacy, Pope Leo XIV will be officially installed at a Mass in St. Peter’s Square on May 18. This Mass, which is a tradition marking the formal beginning of a new pontificate, is also known as the Mass for the Beginning of the Pontificate. Coincidentally, although it is just a coincidence, this happens to be the birthday of Pope John Paul II.
What’s in a name? Or, more importantly…..What’s in a name for a Pope?
When it comes to Popes choosing a name, there is great significance. They don’t just pick a name out of a hat, or find one that sounds good. Almost always, a new pope chooses a name that will relate to his style of governance within the Church. Leo means lion.
Interestingly, in 452 A.D. Pope Leo I (now know as Pope Leo the Great) went out alone to meet Attila the Hun, who had ravaged much of Europe including norther Italy, in an attempt to persuade him to spare Rome.
That meeting was subsequently immortalized in a fresco by the High Renaissance painter Raphael (1483-1520). The fresco now hangs in the Vatican Museums.
History shows that Attila subsequently withdrew his forces. Obviously there have been quite a few more Pope Leos….12 more in fact.
Another predecessor, Pope Leo XIII wrote 12 encyclicals on the Rosary and wrote the Saint Michael Prayer after a vision he experienced in 1884. The vision reportedly involved Satan boasting to God about his ability to destroy the Church within 75-100 years. Also, Leo XIII revived the study of St Thomas Aquinas
An interesting fact is that the date of the election of Pope Leo XIV, May 8, is The feast of Our Lady of Pompeii….the Patronage of Our Lady over the Dominican Order. .
The guessing as to what his Papacy will be like is all over the place, of course.
Our expectation is that he will probably trend a bit more traditional than modernists would have preferred and bit less traditional than the traditionalists would have preferred; although by his choice of vestments we believe he will lean toward the traditionalist side. Meantime, expect some hit pieces from the secular media as they dig through every thing he has ever said or done…..and put their spin on it.
His first homily as Pope Leo XIV gives us a clue as to the missionary emphasis of his Papacy:
“Where Christians are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied is where the Catholic Church’s missionary outreach is most desperately needed” He could easily be talking about the secularization of many western nations, including the U.S.
It will be interesting to see if he moves in to the Papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace…a place where Pope Francis chose not to live, preferring the simple lodgings at Casa Marta.
One interesting quote from him that might give us a clue is when, as Bishop in Chiclayo, when he opposed a government plan to add teachings on gender in schools. He told the local news media”The promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist“.
And another quote: “We must be careful not to make the Church a mirror of the world. She is called to be a sign of contradiction.”
That seems very similar to Luke 2:34, when Simeon blesses Mary and speaks a prophecy about the child Jesus. He declares that Jesus is “appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against“.
On May 14 Pope Leo XIV held his first public Papal Audience, Wednesday being the traditional day for Papal public audiences.