LEO is now tied for the fourth most common name chosen by popes, along with Clement. Only John, Gregory and Benedict have proven more popular.
But we haven’t had a Pope Leo in more than a century.
The last Pope Leo was Leo XIII, who was born in French-occupied Rome in 1810. He served as pope from 1878 until his death in 1903, making his 25-year papacy the fourth longest in the church’s history.
Leo XIII is remembered as a pope of Catholic social teaching. He wrote a famous open letter in 1891, reflecting on the technological changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution and its impact on workers.
In choosing to revive the name, Leo XIV may be signalling the priorities for his papacy.
The first Pope Leo, who served in the fifth century, is known as “Leo the Great,” and is remembered for persuading Attila the Hun to halt his invasion and spare the Roman Empire from destruction.
Their meeting was captured in a painting by Raphael, which is now displayed in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, which the 133 voting cardinals — including Robert Prevost, now Leo XIV — passed through as they proceeded into the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday for the start of the conclave.
The name Leo derives from the Latin for “lion,” suggesting strength and courage.
In his address from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo XIV said the church can still hear “the weak but always courageous voice of Pope Francis,” his predecessor.
The Church’s mission Under Pope Leo XIV
The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, describes Pope Leo XIV’s first message to the world as a call to peace and dialogue.
He also highlights the significance of his name as a clear reference to the Church’s social teaching in the modern age.
Shortly after the announcement of the new Pope, Bruni, addressed journalists at a conference in the Holy See Press Office.
“We have heard the Pope’s first words,” said Bruni, words of peace, “unarmed and disarming.”
Bruni noted that the Pope spoke of dialogue, and that his first blessing recalled Pope Francis’ message just a few days ago, on Easter Sunday: “God cares for us, He loves you all, and evil will not prevail”.
Turning to the name chosen by the new Pope, Bruni confirmed that the decision to be called Leo XIV was a clear and deliberate reference to Pope Leo XIII, author of the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum. That document marked the beginning of the Church’s modern social doctrine.
“In this context,” Bruni said, “it is clearly a reference to the lives of men and women, to their work – even in an age marked by artificial intelligence.”
