Catholics around the world watched with excitement as newly elected Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States, appeared on the balcony above St. Peter’s Square to deliver a message of unity: “Peace be with you,” he said in Italian. “Dearest brothers and sisters, this was the first greeting of the risen Christ … I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are; and all the peoples, and all the earth.”
At Fordham, University leaders said they expected him to be an especially effective leader of the global church who will emphasize Catholic social teachings on serving the poor and the marginalized.
A native of Chicago, Pope Leo, 69, has extensive missionary experience in Peru, where he spent two decades and holds citizenship, and most recently served in the Vatican as prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops, which oversees the selection of bishops around the world. He is the first Augustinian pope as well, and he previously served as the order’s prior general.
A Spirit of Mercy and a Moral Voice
“We joyfully welcome our new pope, Leo XIV, and pray for God’s blessings on him as he lights the way for the Catholic faithful around the world,” said Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham. “We give thanks that the College of Cardinals has selected a leader who is well prepared to convey a spirit of mercy, unity, and respect for universal human dignity, a moral voice for Catholics and the world.”
The new pope is known for his emphasis on human dignity and care for the downtrodden, said John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry at Fordham.
“I think he will be a preacher of peace,” Father Cecero said. “He will continue in the line of Pope Francis to stand up for the poor and those who don’t have a voice,” he said, referring to Leo’s late predecessor, the first Jesuit pope, who made then-Archbishop Robert Prevost a cardinal in 2023. “He has a wonderful smile and demeanor that will naturally attract and invite people to listen to him.”
A Global Citizen Who Will Lead ‘the Whole Church’
David Gibson, director of Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture, said Leo “is the first American pope but in a real sense he is also the second Latin American pope.”
“He spent so much of his life in Peru and working as a missionary outside the United States that he is really the first global pope for our global church,” he said.
“I was struck by the fact that he spoke to his new flock there in the square in their tongue, Italian, and to his flock in Peru in Spanish,” he said. “The real shock of this election for Americans will be when this pope speaks to us in an American accent. Imagine it.”
Father Cecero said the new pope was actually known as “the least American of all the cardinals” and “a global citizen.”
“He’s familiar with America, South America, Europe, and really the world,” he said. “This is a pope who will know how to lead the church because he knows the church, and loves the church—the whole church.”
An Effective Leader
Gibson said Leo is well regarded as a manager by his peers.
“Everyone I spoke with here at the Vatican had only nice things to say about Prevost, and that’s not an easy feat in the Roman Curia!” said Gibson, who traveled to Rome for the papal announcement. “They were also all very impressed with the way he ran the Dicastery for Bishops, one of the most important offices of the Curia and the church, which is essentially responsible for vetting priest appointments to dioceses around the world.
“That kind of administrative talent could help continue and solidify the reforms that Francis began in terms of synodality and the innovations that can outlast any single pontificate,” he said.
Alignment with Jesuit Values
Father Cecero noted with interest that the new pope chose the same name as Pope Leo XIII, the pontiff who in 1891 wrote the landmark social encyclical Rerum Novarum, which emphasized the rights of workers.
“He has a heart for the poor,” Father Cecero said. “I think his alignment with Jesuit values is clear, so we obviously are looking forward to establishing more of a relationship with him in the future.”
