As each day passes – and at time of writing it is just three days since Pope Leo XIV’s breathtaking election to the See of Peter – it is becoming ever more clear that his watchword is continuity.
Continuity with Peter of course. He celebrated Mass close to the apostle’s tomb on Saturday.
Continuity with Pope Saint Paul VI and other recent popes. Leo’s cry “No more war” from the balcony of St Peter’s yesterday echoed Paul’s historic address to the United Nations almost 60 years ago.
And at this stage anyway, when so many of the faithful may be looking for reassurance on the matter, continuity with Francis, his immediate predecessor, evidenced by the referencing of Francis in his public pronouncements, the prompt visit to pray at his tomb, and the repeated mentioning of synodality.
But that does not mean that Robert Francis Prevost isn’t his own man, with his distinctive style borne of his training in mathematics and his Augustinian charism with its emphasis on community, intellectual inquiry and practical love in the form of service to those both in physical need and in need of a voice.
Above all, by taking the name Leo he has communicated an unshakable commitment to social justice and the fair and decent treatment of workers and their families who feel threatened and undervalued by the onward march of the digital revolution and artificial intelligence.
The new pope’s justice agenda, gospel teaching spelt out by Jesus in the Beatitudes, will not likely endear him to a wealthy American president who sucks up to the tech giant billionaire class.
Leo stepped out on to the great loggia of St Peter’s Basilica at precisely noon yesterday to rapturous cheering from tens of thousands in the vast square below who had waited patiently in warm pleasant conditions for his first Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven) prayer, the Marian anthem that replaces the Angelus during the Easter season.
I met visitors from far and wide – India, Paraguay, the US, Spain, Britain, Spain, Brazil, Germany – but despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find any from Ireland.
Most had been on pre-planned pilgrimages, holidays or work visits.
Nichole and Herbert, a middle- aged couple from the Netherlands, had jumped on a train to see history being made.
Herbert said: “I think Leo’s visit to Francis’s tomb sends a very powerful message of continuity. That’s important for me.”
Stephen (69) and his wife Karen (68) had travelled from Pennsylvania.
They had never heard of Cardinal Prevost until his election and are delighted to see an American elected, but stressed that Leo is “an all-American, representing both north and south”.
Stephen said: “I am pleased he is so humanitarian, sticking up for the poor and underprivileged. Trump doesn’t care about such people.”
There were especially loud cheers when Leo – speaking in Italian – mentioned Ukraine, Gaza and India/Pakistan.
Recalling the cries of Pope Francis for peace, he said: “The immense tragedy of the Second World War ended 80 years ago on May 8, having claimed 60 million victims. In today’s dramatic context of a third world war fought piecemeal… I too appeal to the powerful of the world by repeating these ever-relevant words: never again war.”
Yesterday was World Day of Prayer for Vocations and addressing young people about vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, Leo encouraged them saying: “Do not be afraid! Welcome the Church’s invitation and that of Christ the Lord.”
There was a carnival atmosphere in and around St Peter’s Square after the pope’s address, with numerous brass bands entertaining the crowds as the sun came out. As part of the Jubilee of Hope, it was the turn of the Jubilee of Bands and Popular Entertainment.
Pope Leo, exuding a vigour reminiscent of the early John Paul II (although 10 years older), has set a cracking pace.
In addition to saying Mass near Peter’s tomb, he addressed and dialogued with the cardinals, whom he called “closest collaborators of the Pope”.
Then he was driven in a Volkswagen Multivan, seated in the front, an hour out of Rome to a Marian shrine beloved of Augustinians in the town of Genazzano, which contains an ancient image of the Virgin Mary, meeting locals in the church and having a private meeting members of the Augustinian community.
On his way back he called at Francis’s tomb, which itself is becoming a pilgrimage site.
But arguably the most revealing event of the weekend was Leo’s address to the cardinals.
Vatican News said he revealed the inspiration behind the name he chose – one which, in his own words, echoes the Church’s enduring commitment to human dignity and social justice.
“Pope Leo XIII, with the historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum, addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution,” Pope Leo recalled.
“Today, the church offers to all her treasure of social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and the developments of artificial intelligence.”
Looking to the future, Leo reiterated the path set in motion by the Second Vatican Council, highlighting key themes from Pope Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: the primacy of Christ, synodality, the sensus fidei (the supernatural “sense” of the faithful), popular piety, care for the poor, and courageous engagement with the world.
This morning Pope Leo XIV will host his first audience. It will be with journalists and other media personnel accredited to the Holy See who’ve come from all over the world to cover his election – including this writer.
We don’t know if he’ll take questions but there’s no shortage to put to him, including where he will live. If he decides to use the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace, too much should not be read into it given his obvious anxiety to build on the Francis legacy.
One wouldn’t be surprised if his media style is much more reserved than that of Francis, who gave his advisers palpitations by departing from scripts and arranging ad hoc encounters with journalists.
That mathematical training acquired studying for a degree in mathematics in Villanova University may help bring a precision to this papacy that some may think is timely.