Twelve months into the Pontificate, on the eve of his first Encyclical, the point of who is Pope Prevost
The forthcoming encyclical — whose publication is now imminent — will enrich the theological and pastoral framework of Leo XIV’s pontificate. The year since his appointment (8 May 2025) illustrates his style. Not showy, not clamorous, not over the top, but rather recognized within tradition: from his dress to his dwelling (an apartment on the third loggia), from his manner of governance to his management of his public image, from his fidelity to the Council to the priority of proclamation. And, albeit in a different register, continuity with Francis is confirmed.
The conclave: can one go back?
To recount an event cum clavis — that is, a private one — I draw on a number of firsthand details and on the reliable account presented in the volume by Gerard O’Connell (Irish, America) and Elisabetta Piqué (Argentine, La Nacion). The original English-language edition is titled The Election of Pope Leo XIV. The Last Surprise of Pope Francis (Orbis Books, 2026, 312 pp.).
The 133 cardinal electors from 71 countries, with diverse backgrounds, were largely unknown to one another. The required majority was two-thirds, meaning 89 votes. Some background to the event is worth recalling: the funeral that demonstrated Francis’s popularity; the Curia’s discomfort; Francis’s direct management of the information apparatus, with the Secretariat for Communication kept at the margins; the grave and confused situation of the Diocese of Rome; and what appeared to be an aggressive conservative opposition, from American Catholics to Eastern episcopates.
There were those, like Steve Bannon, who openly said, “we will bring down Pope Francis” (a quotation from the Epstein files). Also circulating in American conservative circles was a Report profiling some forty possible candidates, assessed on sensitive issues such as views on homosexuality and the blessing of couples, priestly celibacy, women deacons or priests, the old rite, and so on. Previously, there had been a meeting in Budapest of the more conservative episcopal wing, interpreted as a push for Cardinal Péter Erdő’s candidacy.
The volume reconstructs the first scrutiny (7 May): within a span of 20-30 votes, the ranking was: Erdő first, then Robert Prevost, then Pietro Parolin. Jean-Marc Aveline (Marseille) was further behind, with a few individual votes for Tagle, Turkson, Zuppi, Grech, Farrell, and others, including Pizzaballa. Thus, there was a relatively strong candidate from the conservative wing and a fragmentation of the “Bergoglian” front, in which the limited viability of Parolin (much anticipated) and the potential of Robert Prevost were both evident.
On 8 May, in the second scrutiny, Prevost moved into the lead thanks to previously scattered votes, while Parolin did not gain any additional votes. The signal consolidated the “Bergoglian” front. Thus, in the third scrutiny, the names with the greatest support were Prevost, Parolin, and Aveline. In the afternoon, in the fourth scrutiny, Prevost received 108 votes — well beyond the 89 required (with a probable transfer of Parolin’s and Aveline’s votes). He accepted and became Pope Leo XIV.
The reasons for the convergence on Prevost can be summarized as follows: a pastor and curial figure with no enemies; a man of the Global South yet born in the United States; a happy, calm temperament; shy and not particularly extroverted; in continuity with Francis (with whom he had disagreements during Bergoglio’s Argentine episcopate, though Francis nonetheless wanted him at the Dicastery for Bishops); accustomed to internationality as Superior General of the Augustinians; of moderate and reformist reputation; with a positive track record at the Dicastery; in good health; multilingual; of deep spirituality; a son of the Council.
American, not Trumpian
For the cardinals and Christian communities, his American origin carries no particular significance, partly because he seems more emotionally attached to the Peruvian people than to the United States. In a recent quip, he said he would root for Peru in a hypothetical match between South and North Americans.
The problem arose on the American administration’s side. After Leo’s and Vatican diplomacy’s cautious dissent regarding the American intervention in Venezuela, the “no” to the request to join the Board of Peace for the management of post-Gaza, the support for migrants, and the clear distance from the war with Iran, Donald Trump attacked him in rude, confused, and presumptuous terms. He called him weak on crime, terrible at foreign policy, and hostile to his administration — going so far as to claim credit for his election to the papal throne. A rambling display that began on 13 April and was repeated in similar tones on 5 May, when he accused the Pope of supporting Iran’s nuclear program.
It is difficult to respond to the irrational. During his African journey (April 12-23), Pope Leo confined himself to saying he was not interested in polemics. In reality, what divides the Holy See from the current administration is the Pope’s full endorsement of international institutions, multilateral diplomacy, and disarmament.
Regarding American Catholics, Pope Leo’s intention is to overcome the divisions among them. This effort was already underway, as evidenced by episcopal consensus on the inhumane immigration policy, calls urging elected officials to change their perspective, the definition of the intervention against Iran as an “unjust war,” and initiatives by cardinals, bishops, and Church institutions in various social emergencies.
An inefficient Curia serves no one
In the Curial reform outlined in Pope Francis’s constitution Praedicate Evangelium (2022), the general directions are clear and compelling. Whereas the Council of Trent placed its central focus on the defense of the doctrine of the faith — with the Congregation described as the “Supreme” — the driving focus is now the evangelizing dimension, with the Dicastery dedicated to it reporting directly to the Pope.
Second, the Curia is not only international — because the Christian world is Catholic — but above all a means and an aid to the Pontiff, not a wall of separation from the bishops. As a service structure whose authority derives from the Pope, it allows non-ordained (laymen and laywomen) to hold senior roles. Finally, all Dicasteries are on the same level, with the Secretariat of State being an exception.
The critical point of the reform has not only been the lack of statutes but also the absence of the entire chain of instructions, ranging from the duties of junior officials to those of heads of office to those of prefects. Moreover, some mergers proved unnatural, and certain choices of women in leadership positions — admirable figures in themselves — lacked support under canon law. Too often, the Pope’s direct order bypassed all internal mediation channels, and the inability to turn to the Secretariat of State meant one had to address the Pope alone.
Leo made it clear that he trusts his collaborators and intends to respect their roles and responsibilities. He has, in fact, transferred many functions back to the Secretariat of State, as evidenced by his address to officials on June 3, 2025. Appointments seem rather slow, but by no means trivial or lacking in courage: from the successor at the Dicastery for Bishops (Filippo Iannone) to the Secretary for Consecrated Life (Tiziana Merletti), to the legal confirmation of the Governor (Raffaella Petrini) and the Prefect for Consecrated Life (Simona Brambilla). At the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, he appointed Msgr. Anthony Randazzo, and as Secretary for the Clergy, he chose Msgr. Carlo Radaelli.
As for the Secretariat of State, the possible confirmation of Cardinal Pietro Parolin remains pending, but he has appointed the Nigerian Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo as Assessor for General Affairs, the Romanian Mihaita Blai as Under-Secretary to the Section for Relations with States, and, above all, Msgr. Paolo Rudelli as Substitute. The new Prefect of the Pontifical Household is Petar Rajič. He has made clear that curial service is time-limited and that he will avail himself of the advice of the consistory of cardinals (already held on 7-8 January and scheduled for 27-28 June).
Several episcopal appointments are also noteworthy: for New York (Ronald Hicks), Vienna (Josef Grünwidl), London (Richard Moth), Kraków (Grzegorz Ryś), and Prague (Stanislav Přibyl), as well as the appointment to Washington (Robert McElroy).
Peace
Among the themes of his preaching, several stand out: peace, the poor, spirituality, and ecclesial concord. The peace of the Risen Christ was the Pope’s first word from the loggia of St. Peter’s after his election:
“Peace be with all of you! Dear brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting from the Risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for God’s flock. I too would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, reach your families, and extend to all people wherever they are, to all peoples, and to all the earth. Peace be with you!”
He returned to peace insistently. In his greeting to the diplomatic corps on May 16, 2025:
“The first word is peace. Too often we consider it a ‘negative’ word, meaning merely the absence of war and conflict, since opposition is part of human nature and always accompanies us, pushing us too often to live in a constant ‘state of conflict’: at home, at work, in society. Peace then seems like a simple truce, a moment of rest between one dispute and another, because however hard we try, tensions are always present, rather like embers smouldering beneath the ash, ready to reignite at any moment.”
In a message to Bishop Shirahama of Hiroshima marking the eightieth anniversary of the atomic bombings of the two Japanese cities, Leo XIV emphasized that “true peace requires the courage to lay down arms,” especially “those that possess the capacity to cause unspeakable catastrophes.” He therefore called for the forging of “a global ethic rooted in justice, fraternity and the common good” (14 August 2025).
His first message for the World Day of Peace (January 1, 2026) was demanding. He recalled the enormous burden of military spending and the urgent need for peace education:
“It must be recognised that the halting of the arms race for war purposes, their effective reduction, and still more their elimination, are impossible or nearly so, if at the same time one does not proceed to an integral disarmament; if, that is, one does not also dismantle spirits, sincerely working to dissolve in them the war psychosis: which in turn requires that the criterion of peace resting on the balance of armaments be replaced by the principle that true peace can only be built on mutual trust. We believe that this is an objective that can be achieved. For it is demanded by right reason, is greatly desired, and is of the highest utility.”
And above all the risk of delegating to machines decisions concerning the lives of all. Peace is the priority task of the faiths: “This is a fundamental service that religions must render to suffering humanity, keeping watch over the growing attempt to turn even thoughts and words into weapons. The great spiritual traditions, as well as the right use of reason, lead us beyond bonds of blood or ethnicity, beyond those fraternities that recognise only those who are similar and reject those who are different. Today we see how this is not taken for granted. Unfortunately, it is increasingly part of the contemporary landscape to drag the words of faith into political combat, to bless nationalism and to religiously justify violence and armed struggle.”
He spoke of peace in his Christmas message. He returned to the theme in his address to the Diplomatic Corps on January 9. He insisted on it during his African journey, denouncing “warlords” and acknowledging the continent’s important role in the community of peoples. For Pope Leo, the tension stems from being the heir to a progressive theological delegitimization of war (ius contra bellum), while the “just war” framework remains on the table — invoked by American bishops against Trump — even as elements of Christianity, such as the Russian one, openly justify military aggression, and even as the explosion of legitimization of military violence in the American administration’s strategy is being registered.
The poor
To the poor, he dedicated his first major written work, the apostolic exhortation Dilexi te (October 4, 2025), effectively co-authored with Francis.
It is not merely a social matter but a nodal point in the Christocentric nature of Christian doctrine (n. 84). Indeed, “the preferential option for the poor on the part of the Church is inscribed in the Christological faith that led God to become poor for us, to enrich us with his poverty” (n. 99). “The reality is that for Christians the poor are not a sociological category, but the very flesh of Christ” (n. 110). “We are not in the horizon of charity, but of revelation: contact with those who have no power and greatness is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history” (n. 5).
Attention to the poor is, moreover, the condition for any possible reform of the Church: “I am convinced that the preferential option for the poor generates extraordinary renewal both in the Church and in society, when we are capable of freeing ourselves from self-referentiality and managing to listen to their cry” (n. 7).
The admonition to those religious sensibilities that presume to ignore service to the poor rings out forcefully: “It must be recalled that religion, especially the Christian religion, cannot be confined to the private sphere, as if the faithful should not also care about problems concerning civil society and events that affect citizens” (n. 112). This is true worldliness, concealed beneath religious practices.
To the apostolic exhortation one can add the two addresses to popular movements — a priority imposed by Pope Francis. Leo met them on 30 May and 25 October 2025. I quote from the latter meeting a passage with clear Bergoglian resonances:
“Is asking for land, housing and work for the excluded a ‘new thing’? Seen from the centres of world power, certainly not; those with financial security and a comfortable home may consider these demands somehow outdated. The truly ‘new’ things seem to be autonomous vehicles, fashionable objects or clothes, high-end mobile phones, cryptocurrencies and the like. From the peripheries, however, things look different; the banner you wave is so current that it deserves an entire chapter in Christian social thought on the excluded in today’s world. This is the perspective I wish to convey: new things seen from the periphery and your commitment that is not limited to protest but seeks solutions. The peripheries often invoke justice and you cry out not ‘out of desperation’ but ‘out of desire’: yours is a cry to seek solutions in a society dominated by unjust systems. And you do not do it with microprocessors or biotechnologies, but from the most elementary level, with the beauty of craftsmanship. And this is poetry: you are ‘social poets’.”
The forthcoming encyclical will reinforce these indications.
Spirituality
Leo is the heir of the theology and spirituality of Augustine, which permeate his interventions, emphasizing the search for and interiority, the believer’s restlessness, introspection, and the centrality of love in Christian life.
Augustine sought God intensely and, once he found him, devoted himself fully to him in communion with his brothers. The search for God runs throughout Christian life. God’s reality is so unfathomable that one can never fully grasp his knowledge. The more one seeks God and finds him, the more one loves him; the more one loves him, the stronger the desire to seek him still. To find God is to find happiness because “you have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
Leo, in his presentation of the volume The Practice of the Presence of God by Lawrence of the Resurrection, a French Carmelite of the 17th century, emphasized a particular personal sensitivity. Lawrence’s way is simple because it requires nothing more than constantly keeping God in mind through small, continuous acts of praise, prayer, supplication, and adoration, making Him alone the horizon and end in every action and thought. It is the spiritual experience of deep union, of encounters and conversations, of concealments and surprises, of abandonments and choices — all elements typical of the great mystics.
The reference to Augustine recurs frequently — for example, in the aforementioned address to diplomats, where De Civitate Dei serves as a framework for understanding the change of epoch.
Ecclesial concord
There is a clear effort to cool the clashes that arose during the previous pontificate and to recall everyone to the awareness that what unites the Church is far greater than anything that can divide it. Communion is necessary for the effectiveness of proclamation and is part of the essence of the Gospel.
For this reason, Pope Leo will visit the most contentious territories as little as possible and will not be found on the frontiers of research — even though he will not censure experimentation and new developments. He is convinced that ecclesial communion is also a necessary witness in a world that is progressively and paradoxically divided.
He recalled this in his address to the Curia for the Christmas greetings of 2025 (22 December 2025):
“Communion in the Church always remains a challenge that calls us to conversion. Sometimes, behind an apparent tranquility, the ghosts of division stir. And these make us fall into the temptation of oscillating between two opposite extremes: uniforming everything without valuing differences, or, on the contrary, exasperating diversities and points of view rather than seeking communion.”
Among the personal audiences listed are the names of the most critical bishops and prelates among the conservatives. On this front, the most uncomfortable stumbling block at present is the Lefebvrians’ intention to ordain new bishops. After the announcement on 2 February and the subsequent meeting with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the Prefect, came the refusal to continue the dialogue and the reaffirmation of the decision that will entail the renewal of excommunications for those ordained and those ordaining.
Scattered notes
Pontifical teaching ranges across many other aspects. I limit myself to indicating a few.
Ecumenism
The apostolic journey to Nicaea and Lebanon on the occasion of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council (27 November – 2 December 2025) is a clear signal of the continuity of the conciliar direction, even in a time of strong identity-based tensions within all Christian confessions, dramatically expressed by the Orthodox rupture and the nationalist distortion of the Russian Church. Addressing and resolving the question of the Filioque indicates the updating of the Magisterium in relation to theological reflection.
The present moment is one of great ecumenical fragility: the growing intra-Orthodox fracture has isolated Russian-Slavic Orthodoxy, poisoning intra-Christian relations. All the Churches in the West are tested by secularization. The fragility of the historic Protestant confessions is becoming evident, and the schism among the Anglican Churches over moral issues has exploded. For the most part, the rapidly growing neo-Pentecostal communities are not particularly interested in ecumenical dialogue.
A context in which maintaining a firm direction of dialogue means saving the future of Christianity.
Geopolitics
Already evoked in relation to the American administration, this is structured around the choice of international institutions — beginning with the UN — despite their grave current crisis. Their dismantling would justify Russia’s military aggression, the United States’ power instinct, and China’s hegemonic will, toward which dialogue continues.
A positive reference is made to Europe, as emerges from the address to members of the People’s Party on 25 April 2026. The danger that international disorder may turn into wars to the detriment of peoples and the poor is an awareness that Leo does not cease to underline.
Bioethics and new rights
The issues dear to radical Western circles — gender, homosexual culture, reproductive rights, abortion, and so on — find no space of consensus in Leo’s Magisterium, except in the demand to avoid discrimination and in the full recognition of the value of every person.
On the theme of “new rights,” an illuminating paper was presented by the new Substitute, Paolo Rudelli. For Leo, questions of justice, equality, and freedom take priority over discussions of the aforementioned themes. Regarding research typical of “liberal” circles in the Western Church — viri probati, ordination of women, the female diaconate, the blessing of same-sex couples, and similar matters — there will be no censure, but certainly no encouragement either.
Francis’s saber thrusts (“who am I to judge”) will have no sequel. Pope Leo has shown he does not consider them central or urgent. He shares Francis’s direction but is aware of its potential divisiveness within the universal Catholic Church and in ecumenical dialogue.
Combating abuse
Speaking to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (16 March 2026), he said: “The prevention of abuse is not an optional task, but a constitutive dimension of the Church’s mission.” He also underscored the full integration of this work into the Curia, particularly into the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
He knows the delicacy and destructive power of this scandal, having managed several cases both as Superior General of the Augustinians and as bishop in Chiclayo, Peru, where the Sodalitium of Figari — now suppressed — spread much poison. One test is the Rupnik case: with judges having been found, the outcome of their work is awaited.
Questions and expectations
The abuse theme raises questions about potentially critical elements. I recall three: the debate over the old liturgical rite, the theme of natural law and the possible re-emergence of non-negotiable principles, and the development of synodality.
The rite
The celebration, according to the old rite, at the altar of St. Peter’s by Cardinal Burke on October 25 surprised those who believed the liturgical battle was closed. The same cardinal — and subsequently several other conservatives — was received in audience by Pope Leo.
The Pontiff explicitly expressed his intention to reduce internal conflicts, including those related to the liturgy. In a message to the French Bishops, he called for greater inclusion of the faithful drawn to the Tridentine Mass, while respecting Vatican II.
The problem, however, lies here: is the return to the old rite, or is it a demand to shelve Vatican II and a crowbar against possible papal openings? Leo is certainly not disposed to nullify the Council, but unsupervised tolerance could favor worrying drifts.
Natural law
The question of natural law or non-negotiable principles is more nuanced. It is consistent with the neo-Christian project that leaves to politics the responsibility of legislating but invokes the limit that cannot be crossed, namely natural law as read and interpreted by the Church. To the binomial of Magisterium and natural law, Pope Francis substituted that of Gospel and signs of the times, which allows the primacy of the Gospel to be maintained while opening to new needs and widespread practices, without losing the critical dimension.
Pope Leo has repeatedly returned to the reference to natural law precisely when speaking to political leaders. For example, on the occasion of the Jubilee on 21 June last: “The natural law, universally valid beyond and above other convictions of a more debatable character, constitutes the compass with which to orient oneself in legislating and acting, especially on delicate ethical questions that today arise in a far more pressing way than in the past, touching the sphere of personal intimacy.”
Legislative processes such as the constitutionalizing of the “right” to abortion or the reception in law of the most radical demands of gender culture could open up contentious issues of significant weight.
Synodality
Synodality is the coherent development of the Church’s ecclesial consciousness over recent centuries: from the Petrine principle at Vatican I to the collegial principle at Vatican II to the fullness of synodality in its reception.
Synodality is a fundamental theological principle. Leo’s approach seems to reduce it to a style, a manner of behavior, something that does not pertain to the Church’s fundamental structure. This is the impression held by some of the protagonists of the recent Synod — which has not yet concluded. We shall see how ecclesial doctrine and practice develop.
first published on Settimana News https://www.settimananews.it/papa/leone-xiv-un-anno-e-uno-stile/ republished with permission
