In a marked departure from his predecessor, Pope Leo, previously known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, has adopted a distinct approach in his first month of papacy.
Elected as the first U.S. pope on May 8, Leo has presided over approximately two dozen public events but has refrained from making significant appointments or announcing plans for foreign trips. His choice of residence within the Vatican also remains undisclosed. This is a stark contrast to the flurry of activity that marked the first month of Pope Francis, the first pope from the Americas, who was elected in March 2013.
As reported by Reuters, Pope Leo's approach is a stark contrast to his predecessor, Pope Francis. Within a month of his election, Francis had announced his decision to be the first pontiff in over a century to reside outside the Vatican's apostolic palace. He had also appointed his successor as Archbishop of Buenos Aires and established a new advisory group of senior Catholic cardinals.
Two of Leo's long-standing associates anticipate that the 69-year-old Pope will adopt a thoughtful approach to the challenges confronting the Catholic Church. They predict that he may take several months before making any major decisions. "Leo is taking his time," Rev. Mark Francis, a friend of the new pontiff since the 1970s, told Reuters. "While he is going to continue in the path indicated by Pope Francis, his disposition is very different."
Leo, who was first appointed a bishop by Francis in 2015 and later chosen by the late pope for a senior Vatican role two years ago, has frequently praised his predecessor in his initial weeks. He has also echoed some of Francis' main themes, including emotional appeals for an end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. However, according to Rev. Francis, who attended seminary with Leo in Chicago and later knew him when they both lived in Rome in the 2000s, the two men have different temperaments. "Leo is much more focused and methodical and not inclined to hasty decisions," he said.
Among the challenges facing the American pope is the Vatican's 83-million-euro ($95 million) budget shortfall, which Reuters reported in February had stirred contention among senior cardinals under his predecessor. Other looming issues facing the 1.4 billion-member Church include declining adherence to the faith in Europe, ongoing revelations of clerical sexual abuse, and doctrinal debates over matters such as inclusion of LGBT Catholics and the possibility of women's ordination.
Francis, who sought to modernize the Church, did not formally change many doctrines but garnered criticism from conservative cardinals by opening the door to communion for divorcees and blessings for same-sex couples. Rev. Anthony Pizzo, who has known Leo since 1974 when they attended Villanova University outside Philadelphia together, said the pope is someone who listens carefully and seeks to hear many viewpoints before making decisions.
"This is going to be his modus operandi," said Pizzo, who leads the Midwest U.S. province of the Augustinian religious order, to which Leo also belongs. "When you first come into leadership, listen well, get to know your constituency to make a well-informed decision," Pizzo added, describing the pope's thought process.
Francis and Leo came to the papacy at different ages and with different career backgrounds. Francis, elected at age 76, had been a cardinal for 12 years before ascending to the papacy. He had earlier been a leading contender in the 2005 conclave that elected his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. Leo, seven years younger when he donned the white papal cassock, is a relative unknown on the world stage who only became a cardinal and Vatican official two years ago. He spent most of his prior career as a missionary in Peru.
Early in his tenure, Francis told journalists that, due to his age, he expected to have a brief papacy of only a few years. Leo, the youngest pontiff since John Paul II was elected at age 58 in 1978, can perhaps expect a papacy of ten or more years.
Among the challenges facing the new pope is a Vatican budget shortfall estimated at 83 million euros, two knowledgeable sources told Reuters. The city-state also has a much larger gap in its pension fund, said to total some 631 million euros by the Vatican's finance czar in 2022 but estimated by several insiders to have since ballooned significantly.
In his first weeks, Leo has not addressed the budget issues and has made only a few new appointments to Vatican roles. But he has held formal one-on-one meetings with many senior Vatican officials, which Pizzo suggested the pope could be using to try to learn quickly. Rev. Jorge Martinez Vizueta, who knew Leo in Peru, said he is someone who pays close attention to what people tell him. "He listens a lot, even with a certain shyness," said Martinez, an Augustinian at a monastery where Leo previously was a spiritual advisor.
Although Leo has not announced where he will live, more than three informed sources said he is expected to move into the official papal apartments in the Vatican's apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's Square. Francis shunned the palace in favor of a Vatican hotel. One senior source, who asked not to be identified, said the papal apartments, which have not been lived in since 2013, will require at least 2 to 3 months of renovations.
While Francis made some big decisions quickly in his first month, he also took time on other issues. He did not make his first trip abroad until late July 2013, four months into his papacy. Leo's first foreign trip is likely to be to Turkey, to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of an early Church council with Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Vatican has not announced the trip, but it was previously planned for Francis. Bartholomew told an Italian television station that he and Leo discussed the possibility of the new pope traveling to Turkey in late November.
Francis, who often spoke off the cuff, was known for giving freewheeling news conferences on flights home from his trips abroad and frequently responded to queries with an unexpected quip. Asked during his first flight home about a Vatican official said to be gay, Francis famously responded: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?"
Rev. Francis said Leo, who in his first month has largely read from prepared texts, is likely to be more careful with his responses during news conferences. "He won't be shooting from the hip like Francis did while speaking with journalists," said the priest.
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