Pope Leo XIV: The Unthinkable

By Artchil B. Fernandez

There is a long-standing taboo in the Catholic Church: As long as the United States of America is a global superpower, there can never be an American pope.

The logic is understandable. Given the geopolitical power wielded by the U.S., giving leadership of the world’s largest religious organization to an American would upset the global balance of geopolitical and cultural power.

The thinking is not without historical precedent. In the 14th century, France—a European superpower under Philip IV—controlled the papacy. Through French Pope Clement V, Philip IV destroyed the Knights Templar to seize their wealth. He also transferred the headquarters of the Church from Rome to Avignon.

That period in Church history is known as the “Babylonian Captivity” (1309–1377). The seven popes under the Avignon Papacy were all French.

Since the return of the popes to Rome from Avignon, the papacy remained largely in Italian hands until 1978, when Polish Pope John Paul II was elected—the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.

Though the next two popes, Benedict XVI of Germany and Francis of Argentina, were also non-Italians, the papacy is still considered off-limits to Americans.

When Pope Francis died last month, none of the strongest papabiles—or contenders to be the next pope—was American, in keeping with tradition.

Yet when the white smoke appeared on the second day of the conclave, the inconceivable happened. The world was stunned when the name of the new pope was announced. He is American.

In one of the shortest conclaves in recent history, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago was elected pope after four ballots.

That the 133 cardinal-electors reached the decision quickly indicates there was little contest in the selection of Pope Francis’ successor.

Early on, a consensus was emerging among them.

Nobody expected an American to be pope in the near future. Yet the unlikely is now reality.

Cardinal Prevost took the name Leo XIV. His election is unthinkable.

It is still perplexing why the cardinals chose an American as the 267th pope. But the person of Cardinal Prevost provides clues.

In the Vatican, he is described as the “least American among the Americans.” The description is not without basis.

Though born and raised in Chicago and educated in the U.S., Cardinal Prevost spent most of his religious life abroad.

For 20 years, he served as a missionary in the poorest regions of Peru.

He was appointed bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2015 and became a dual citizen in that capacity.

Given his religious background and experience, Leo XIV may be American by birth, but his religious outlook is shaped by his work in Latin America.

His administrative experience is rooted in Peru, not the U.S.

It is easy for the cardinal-electors to overlook his American nationality.

His religious roots in South America likely won him the support of cardinals from the region.

In this context, his link with Pope Francis is well established.

He is a North American with a South American perspective, making Pope Leo XIV “least American.”

In a way, the cardinal-electors chose a South American pope.

Nevertheless, it is misleading to say Pope Leo XIV is a clone of Pope Francis.

While both share Latin American backgrounds and concern for the poor, marginalized, migrants and outcasts of society, Pope Leo XIV signaled when he emerged on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square that he is his own person.

Unlike Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV wore the red mozzetta—a short cape—marking a return to tradition.

With this gesture, Leo XIV told the world he is not Francis, though the vision of his predecessor continues: a Church with a special concern for the poor and downtrodden.

At the same time, Leo XIV is reaching out to traditionalists and conservatives by wearing the red mozzetta.

Cardinal Prevost’s choice of papal name, Leo XIV, also hints at the direction of his papacy.

He said he chose the name “mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.”

Previous popes bearing the name Leo left an indelible mark in history.

Leo I was one of three popes who earned the title “the Great.”

He persuaded Attila the Hun—known as “the Scourge of God”—in 452 A.D. not to sack Rome.

His Tome became an authoritative position on the relationship between the two natures of Christ, adopted by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.

Leo III crowned Charlemagne in December 800 A.D., inaugurating the Holy Roman Empire.

Leo IX, an instrumental figure in the Cluniac Reform Movement (1000–1095), fought abuses such as simony and favored celibacy for the clergy as a means of Church reform.

Leo XIII inaugurated the Church’s teachings on social justice and upheld workers’ rights.

Five popes named Leo have been declared saints: Leo I, Leo II, Leo III, Leo IV and Leo IX.

Leo XIII (1878–1903) was the pope who brought the Church into the modern era during the Second Industrial Revolution.

Now, Pope Leo XIV is leading the Church and its 1.4 billion members into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with the rise of artificial intelligence and automation.

May Leo XIV—the unthinkable, the unexpected, and the unanticipated—guide the Church into a new age, grounded in faith and inspired by divine wisdom.

Habemus Papam!