Papal Legacy Reborn: Pope Leo XIV Signals Shift with Historic Name Choice

I think one of the most interesting things about the election of the new Pope is his choice of name,

he said

David I. Kertzerprofessor

The choice of name is a moderate reference, in that Leo XIII was a pre-modern pope and conservative in many ways, but he was also a transitional figure reaching out to the poor,

said Professor Kertzer

David I. Kertzerprofessor

Addressing the rising socialist threat — as the church saw it in the late 19th century,” Leo XIII “called on the church to reach out to a working class and to basically try to ameliorate some of these goals of capitalism and to benefit the working class and work out a amicable relationship between capital and labor,

said David I. Kertzer, a professor at Brown University whose book “Prisoner of the Vatican” examined the role of Leo XIII’s predecessor, Pius IX, the last sovereign ruler of the Papal States

How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor.”

The name dovetailed with his vision for the church

By picking the name Leo XIV, he shows he is committed to the social teaching of the church, which was made foundational by his predecessor Leo XIII,

the Reverend Thomas Reese, a US priest and expert on the Vatican, said of the new pope

Francis was someone who took care of the poor, ministered to them, he raised money for them, visited and anointed them,” while Leo “advocated for their rights,

said Keenan

This administrative capability of the new pope is very important — and it brings some of the order that people were looking for, and doesn’t remove Pope Francis’ legacy but makes it more palpable,

Keenan said

One pope after another did an encyclical to mark further the rights of the poor,

said James F. Keenan, S.J., a Jesuit priest and professor of theology at Boston College

He’s picked what he’s been — an advocate — and someone who doesn’t just want to be with the poor, but advocate for them,

Keenan added

He talked about a way of proceeding that was completely collective,

said Keenan, who viewed the new pope’s background as an asset

I think a lot us had a question mark when they elected an American, and then he selected the name Pope Leo XIV,

said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, the chair of religious studies at Manhattan University