Yesterday in New York, Gerard O’Connell and Elisabetta Piqué presented their book, The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis, published by Orbis Books. Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture organized the event in collaboration with America Media, the publishing group behind the eponymous magazine of the U.S. Jesuits.
The book is structured as a travel diary, which, as O’Connell noted, was the only way to weave together all the material the Vatican experts had gathered during the months leading up to Pope Francis’s death and immediately following the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV. It is a diary that not only recounts a global ecclesial event but also tells the story of the deep bond that united Piqué and O’Connell as family to “Father Jorge”—as they continued to call him even after their Argentine friend assumed the Petrine ministry.
The subtitle clearly indicates the interpretive lens through which the authors recount the days between April 21, 2025—the day of Francis’s death—and Sunday, June 18: attributing the election of Leo XIV to Pope Francis shapes a global imagination that embeds the new pope within his predecessor’s ecclesial and spiritual legacy.
The compelling blend of historical reconstruction, personal memoir, investigative journalism, and street stories makes the book read like an intriguing mystery novel, written with an affectionate tone that flows discreetly between the lines. It is a mystery whose ending is known from the start, yet the reasons leading to it remain hidden behind the theoretically rigorous procedures of secrecy and silence that accompany a conclave.
As the narrative gradually unfolds, excerpts emerge from the cardinals’ speeches during the General Congregations, revealing some cardinals’ fears and others’ demands. The media hype in Italy and discreet behind-the-scenes maneuvering are also revealed, showing that Prevost came in second in the vote count as early as the first ballot.
But why Francis’s final surprise? Perhaps one should consider that the cardinal electors were practically all products of his pontificate—a political way to steer the Church after him, though this could likely be said of every pope. Or perhaps it was the Conclave participants’ truly global representation, resulting from Francis’s clear choice to not only internationalize the Catholic Church at a crucial juncture but also to ensure that this body truly represented the Church’s presence across the world, including distant, marginal, and almost forgotten territories. Or perhaps it was because, as Piqué stated in response to a question from America’s editor, Fr. Sam Sayer, about how the two factions supporting Prevost and Parolin quickly regrouped to channel their votes toward the former, this Conclave was a practical application of the synodality that many participants had learned through the global synodal process of the Catholic Church, initiated by Pope Francis.
Most likely, it is for all these reasons. However, Cardinal S. Chow, Bishop of Hong Kong, offered the most apt summary to explain this “last surprise of pope Francis”: “Francis was a pastoral pope. At his funeral, 400,000 people came in just a few days. After his death, the world turned out—not just the Church—to mourn and say goodbye. Then it became very clear that we weren’t electing a pope just for the Church, but also for the world. And we could see how Francis has influenced the world , has impressed the world as a pastor, a pastor of the world.”
The surprise is that Francis’ pastoral fidelity to the Gospel repositioned the pope’s ministry at the heart of today’s world events. This makes it clear that caring for the world’s affairs is faithful adherence to the Church’s mission. This is the key to understanding the transition from Francis to Leo as the Argentine pope’s legacy to the world and the Church.
If the pope is also a pastor of the world, then the Church must support him in this ministry. This means recognizing that there are issues today that are far more urgent and decisive than the many disputes that continue to drain the ecclesial body’s energy and the historical effectiveness of the faith. Not being a Jesuit, Pope Leo cannot be the pastor of the world alone; he needs the entire Catholic Church to assist him in this task, on which outcome it depends the immediate future of the world and the Church itself.
