Former Swiss Guard’s Thoughts on Election of Pope Leo XIV

In the days leading up to the announcement of a new pope, among all the hypotheses, maneuvers, fears, and attempts at prediction, no one truly seemed to imagine who could come out of the College of Cardinals as the new head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit most of the time lets us wander in our thoughts and projects. But then he intervenes. And he does it with a strength that can nearly knock us over but then he grabs us by the hair to recover us before we fall completely.

Toward the end of last week, while I was in Rome, the name of Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost started emerging vigorously as “papabile” along with the narrative that it would be a fast conclave to choose a new pope.

I confess I was a little skeptical at first (an American pope? Nah.) But the more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself it could actually be a good thing. “He is doctrinally correct in the line of St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, he will maintain the warmth of Pope Francis, and he could bridge the divide in the church while serving in humility and strength,” a prelate friend told me.

And yesterday, sure enough, on the second day and on the fourth ballot, white smoke rose from the chimney of St. Peter’s Basilica at 6:07 p.m. Rome time. An hour later, the new pope, now the former Cardinal Prevost, appeared on the “loggia centrale” of the basilica as Pope Leo XIV.

He greeted the faithful with his hand waving and then remained in silence for a considerable amount of time, clearly deeply moved while the hundred thousand people gathered in the piazza below applauded and the Swiss Guards, along with the Italian armed forces, presented their respects.

“La pace sia con tutti voi (peace be with all of you),” were his first words. He introduced himself as “son of St. Augustine,” a member of the order of St. Augustine (not an insignificant detail); spoke of peace, dialogue, and church unity; and then he prayed the Hail Mary in Italian, commemorating the feast day of Our Lady of Pompei and invoking the intercession of the Mother of God. He immediately entrusted his ministry to Our Lady, a gesture that speaks of a faith that kneels and that he lives in everyday life.

A shy character; a meek man; a religious; a pastor who knows the needs of his priests; and a canon lawyer, therefore, a man of justice, of moderation, and of fidelity to the ecclesial form.

He was head of the Dicastery of Bishops since 2023, in charge of identifying and vetting potential new bishops to be appointed by the pope, but with a past as a missionary in Peru. His father was of Italian and French origin, and his mother was Spanish. He is the first North American Pope and also the first Augustinian pope in history.

His love for Jesus, his missionary experience, his role in the formation of clergy, and his work in the Roman Curia have built a broad ecclesial profile, capable of holding together pastoral rigor, doctrinal balance, and intercultural sensitivity.

His beacon is Leo XIII, the pontiff who wrote “Rerum Novarum,” the first social encyclical in the history of the church, written in 1891. It was from there that Catholics began to speak of social doctrine, of attention to the weakest in society, and their commitment as Catholics in the world of work and in politics.

This choice of the College of Cardinals at a time marked by strong internal and external challenges in the Catholic Church seems to be oriented toward guaranteeing a pontificate of reconstruction and discernment, capable of giving new impetus to the evangelical mission of the church and of addressing the ambiguities that have emerged in recent years.

Today, we can say with certainty the church is in God’s hands. The election of Leo XIV reminds us of this with candor and gentleness at the same time. It seems like a gift from the Lord, who does not make us lack what we need.

And the church is alive because Jesus is alive and present and will continue guiding it through fragile disciples willing to disappear to ultimately find their fulfillment with God so that, according to the teachings of St. Augustine, “He, and He alone, may remain.”

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