When a new pope is chosen, the second biggest question—after, of course, his identity—is the papal name or pontifical name he'll take. Since the last century, a pope's name has been a symbol of their vision for their papacy. Aware of the questions this raises, the new Pope Leo XIV—born Robert Prevost—addressed this in his first formal meeting with cardinals since his election.
“There are different reasons for this but mainly because Pope Leo XIII, in his historic encyclical Rerum Novarum, addressed the social question in the context of the first great Industrial Revolution,” Pope Leo XIV explains. “And today, the church offers to everyone the treasury of social teaching in response to another Industrial Revolution, And to the developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”
Encyclopedia Britannica defines an encyclical as a “pastoral letter written by the pope for the whole Roman Catholic Church on matters of doctrine, morals, or discipline,” with Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum (“Of New Things”) marking a watershed moment for “social encyclicals” that touched on current issues. Leo XIII (1810-1903) was the pope for 25 years, the fourth-longest reign of any pontiff. During this time, his ideas earned him the nicknames of the “Social Pope” and the “Pope of the Workers.”
“When the revolutions in the 18th century happened, and the philosophical revolutions of the 19th century, the church initially said ‘no' to much of that,” Bishop Robert Barron, of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, told CBS News. “Leo represents a very nuanced, intelligent engagement with modernity—not caving into it, not saying yes completely, but not saying no—using the resources of our own traditions to engage modernity creatively. That makes him a bridge figure.”
Beyond the clear nod to Leo XIII, scholars have speculated about nods to predecessors who shared the same regnal name, as well as the late Pope Francis. “[The name] is a deep sign of commitment to social issues,” Natalia Imperatori-Lee, the chair of religious studies at Manhattan University told the Associated Press. “I think this (new) pope is saying something about social justice, by choosing this name, that it is going to be a priority. He is continuing a lot of Francis' ministry.”
Others have also pointed to a cheerful coincidence—Brother Leo, who lived in the 13th century and was a devoted disciple, secretary, and confessor of Francis of Assisi, founded the religious order of the Franciscans, who in turn inspired Jorge Bergoglio to take on the name of Francis. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Franciscan friar Tyler Grudi writes, “It's poetic that this Pope Leo is committed to continuing the evangelical reform of his predecessor Francis.”
Watch Pope Leo XIV explain the meaning behind his pontifical name:
@cnn In his first formal meeting with cardinals, the new pontiff said he chose his papal name to continue down the path of Pope Leo XIII. #CNN #News ♬ original sound – CNN
Sources: New pope chooses Leo as his papal name. Here's why pontiffs change their names and what they mean; CNN on TikTok; encyclical on Encyclopedia Britannica; Rerum Novarum on Encyclopedia Britannica; Tyler Grudi OFM on X; Why Leo XIV? Pope's chosen name suggests commitment to social justice
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