Habemus Papam!!! Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago has become Pope Leo XIV at the age of 69. America magazine has this to say about Pope Leo’s background.
Pope Leo XIV was born Sept. 14, 1955, in Chicago, Ill. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Augustinian-run Villanova University in Pennsylvania and joined the order in 1977, making his solemn vows in 1981. He holds a degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and largely worked in the country until 1999, when he was elected head of the Augustinians’ Chicago-based province. From 2001 to 2013, he served as prior general of the worldwide order. In 2014, Pope Francis named him bishop of Chiclayo, in northern Peru, and the pope asked him to also ask him to be apostolic administrator of Callao, Peru, from April 2020 to May 2021.
I am very excited about this election. Not only is he an American with a Latin American experience, he and I are both alumni of the same theologate in Chicago, Catholic Theological Union (CTU). My experience of CTU is of a theology school with a pastoral model that empathizes its engagement with other cultures and produces ministers that seek to serve the socially wounded and spiritually isolated. CTU graduates not only receive a theological degree, they are also formed as disciples of Christ who are trained for mission and ministry.
Our new Holy Father just gave his first speech, his first Urbi et Orbi message, as he was introduced to the world. In this speech we catch a glimpse of his orientation and Papal vision. It is worthy to note that he identifies as “a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian,” which of course he is. But by telling us that it may also highlight not only the identity of his religious community but also an ecclesial and theological orientation based on the famous Bishop of Hippo and arguably the second greatest theologian (after St. Thomas Aquinas). St. Augustine combined his academic and philosophical wisdom on topics like the Trinity with pastoral directives on charity and social obligations.
This blend of theological acumen with prophetic social directives will be an interesting mix for our new pontiff. The choice for his papal name adds to this. His predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, was the founder of modern Catholic social teaching. It was in 1891 that Pope Leo XIII wrote the first social encyclical “Rerum Novarum” which addressed the concerns for worker rights. It was also Pope Leo XIII who sent Mother Frances Cabrini to New York for the purpose of serving the immigrant communities there. Our Holy Father has so far not commented on why he chose this name but I am willing to bet that this may have something to do with it.
In the rest of his speech he spells out some of his other social emphasis which include dialogue, synodality, and charity.
To the Church of Rome, a special greeting! We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges, dialogue, always open to receive like this square with its open arms, all, all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue and love. …To all of you, brothers and sisters of Rome, of Italy, of the whole world, we want to be a Church of the Synod, a Church that walks, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close, especially to those who suffer.
It may also be interesting to note that Pope Leo XIV is now the second consecutive Pope from the Americas. He is also, like Pope Francis, a religious who is affiliated with a missionary zeal for the poor and marginalized. He also helped Pope Francis research and raise candidates for Church leadership in these last few years, we might expect him to continue to promote this model of church leadership but in a more direct way.
