Pope Leo XIV greeting the faithful aboard the popemobile, after a general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, on May 28, 2025. (Credit: Remo Casilli/Reuters)
Once elected pope, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost chose the name Leo XIV. Most observers agreed that this choice was a reference to Leo XIII. The latter, who reigned from 1878 to 1903, was particularly known as the father of the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. Author of the encyclical "Rerum novarum," he denounced in 1891 "the concentration, in the hands of a few, of industry and commerce ... imposing an almost servile yoke on the infinite multitude of proletarians."The decision of the new pope illustrated the social imprint he intends to give to his pontificate, continuing the work of his predecessor, the first to be named Francis, in reference to St. Francis of Assisi, the defender of the poor.However, few faithful know the church's social teaching, and consequently, apply it in their lives.Yet the...
Once elected pope, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost chose the name Leo XIV. Most observers agreed that this choice was a reference to Leo XIII. The latter, who reigned from 1878 to 1903, was particularly known as the father of the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. Author of the encyclical "Rerum novarum," he denounced in 1891 "the concentration, in the hands of a few, of industry and commerce ... imposing an almost servile yoke on the infinite multitude of proletarians."The decision of the new pope illustrated the social imprint he intends to give to his pontificate, continuing the work of his predecessor, the first to be named Francis, in reference to St. Francis of Assisi, the defender of the poor.However, few faithful know the church's social teaching, and consequently, apply it in their lives.Yet the...