Pope Leo XIV, Builder of Bridges

History has demonstrated once again that those who enter the Sistine Chapel as “future popes” often leave as cardinals. Although the man whom we will now know as Pope Leo XIV was included in some lists of papabile, he was considered by many a “dark horse” candidate owing to his American origins.

Nonetheless, Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost, sixty-nine, who wore the red mozzetta that Pope Francis discarded when he first came onto the loggia of St. Peter’s in 2013, is a Chicago-born Augustinian who has become an influential figure in Rome as the prefect for the Dicastery for Bishops (which oversees the selection of bishops worldwide). His reputation is that of a bridge-builder between the New World and the Old, and between Pope Francis’s vision and the wider Church. Theologically, Cardinal Prevost is considered center-moderate, very much aligned with Pope Francis’s pastoral priorities while holding firmly to the historic Church. 

It is clear that the College of Cardinals recognized the polarization of the Church and sought someone who could bridge gaps and encourage authentic conversation. Pope Leo will likely work toward making the Church welcoming yet rooted, promoting the unity of the Church in a way that may give some progressive Catholics cause for concern.

He is reported to have a genial personality and is a good listener. The lack of fiery public statements on political and moral issues indicates a measured and pragmatic posture. He appears to work quietly through channels to influence outcomes—as indicated by his role in selecting new bishops known for holiness and good leadership. His work with bishops also indicates a trust in local episcopal leadership, which is very much in line with the principle of subsidiarity. 

On the socio-political level, Pope Leo is especially interesting given his American origin and experience in Peru, where he has spent most of his time, first as a missionary and then as a bishop. He knows the Church in a secular democracy as well as in a developing nation with social strife, having lived through the tail-end of the conflict between the authoritarian Peruvian government and Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla group, in the 1980s and nineties.

As such, Pope Leo knows how pluralism works when done respectfully, as well as the dangers of government overreach. He will be in an excellent position to smooth some tensions between the Vatican and the Catholic Church in the U.S., and to quietly encourage dialogues in places where the Church is being persecuted, like Nicaragua, Venezuela, or Cameroon, using the Vatican’s influence to protect the Church and promote religious liberty. He could foreseeably engage civil authorities diplomatically to protect the Church’s freedom to operate charitable institutions, to preach, and so forth, making the case that the Church is a partner for human development.

While he has had no extensive dealings with China, his track record indicates that he might continue dialogue but insist on some transparency and progress. At the very least, we can assume that he will listen to the concerns of Chinese Catholics and recalibrate the present approach with their input.

Pope Leo is aligned with Francis on environmentalism and care for migrants and the poor, though I sense he will approach things in a very different way. No doubt he will continue to make climate change, poverty alleviation, and migration part of the Church’s moral voice, but I doubt he will be as personally outspoken as Francis, even if he empowers various Vatican offices and commissions to keep up that work.

His selection of the name Leo is intriguing in that Pope Leo XIII wrote in a time of economic and social upheaval, as the Industrial Revolution was unfolding and communism was spreading throughout Europe. In the same way that Leo XIII proposed an alternative to “savage capitalism” by grounding economic liberty and the right to private property (which he called sacred) in the natural law, and by promoting the family as the foundation of society, so we can hope that Pope Leo XIV’s worldview is shaped by this understanding of Catholic social teaching.

In Peru, he supported “development from below,” highlighting success stories of cooperatives, micro-enterprises, and education initiatives, aligning with the principle of subsidiarity—solutions that involve the people themselves rather than only top-down aid. Authority (be it ecclesial or civil) in his view is service, not privilege. 

He would likely criticize both rampant corruption (elites treating the economy as their fief) and crony capitalism—in short, any economic system that does not place the human person at the center. He is not anti-business; being from the U.S., he’s seen how enterprise can be a force for good if morally directed. So, akin to Pope St. John Paul II’s approach in Centesimus Annus, the new pope has an opportunity to outline a vision for an economy of freedom with virtue—praising entrepreneurship that creates jobs and innovation, yet warning that without solidarity and ethical grounding, markets can dehumanize. It is not too farfetched to hope that he might revitalize the Holy See’s engagement with economists and scientists, perhaps reconvening something like Pope Benedict’s project of a development dicastery. 

In summary, as Successor of Peter, we might anticipate a pastorally vibrant yet doctrinally faithful papacy, one in the spirit of Pope Francis yet tempered by an Italian-American-Peruvian pragmatism and an Augustinian heart. He could lift up the Church’s mission of evangelization and mercy, insist on integrity and humility in her ministers, and steer the Barque of Peter with a steady, consultative hand. His emphasis on subsidiarity and co-responsibility would ensure that every level of the Church—from the Vatican dicasteries to the parish council—feels encouraged to take initiative for the New Evangelization. And through it all, his friendly, fatherly demeanor could help represent the Church to the world as one family of God, united in truth and love, where authority is service and every person’s God-given dignity is upheld.

Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media via AFP via Getty Images