Pope Leo XIV: The Meaning Behind the Name

When the cardinals elected the new pope—now known as Leo XIV—many celebrated his continuity with the Francis papacy. But some critics, especially from more conservative circles, sounded the alarm because of his name. In this excerpt from Holy Post episode 669, the hosts unpack what the name really means, the history behind Rerum Novarum, and why labeling him a Marxist misses the whole point. (From Holy Post Podcast 669)

Phil: I think everyone is happy about this Pope—except, uh, MAGA. MAGA is not terribly happy because they don't think he's as conservative as they think the Pope should be. I don't understand why they're upset to discover that the Pope is Catholic.

Kaitlyn: Hey, th

at's a pretty accurate description actually.

Phil: What a Pope from Chicago Means for the World of Catholicism by Stephen P. Mills. Stephen P. Mills is a professor of public theology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago—Pope Leo’s alma mater. He says a few things are plainly obvious from the selection of this pope.

First, this was a brisk conclave—“after lunch,” as he puts it. I like to have a brisk conclave. That quick turnaround signals how strong the desire among the cardinal electors was to maintain continuity with the Francis papacy.

See, we discussed last week: what's gonna happen? Is it going to be a Francis backlash and swing the other way? Or are we going to keep going in the same direction? And Mills says it was very clear that the cardinal electors wanted to maintain continuity with the Francis papacy. The cardinals have sent a strong signal that they mean to cement Francis’ legacy.

That was number one. Okay—it’s been determined. We’re not going backward. We’re continuing on with Pope Francis… but under the name Pope Leo.

Then there’s the name. The name "Leo" last belonged to Leo XIII, who long preceded the fights over Vatican II and the culture war divisions that have plagued the Catholic Church since. But Leo XIII was also the first modern pope. He wrote about the problems of people living in the industrial age and defended the rights of workers against the greed of owners. He gave us the first glimpses of how the Catholic Church would face the modern world. Interesting. This is Kaitlyn’s thing.

Kaitlyn: I’ve already seen a few conservative commentators point out the significance of him choosing Leo as his name and saying, “Oh, it’s proof that he’s Marxist,” because Pope Leo XIII wrote this really important—well, he wrote many things—but among them was a really important encyclical: Rerum Novarum. Skye and I did a whole Getting Schooled episode about Catholic social teaching. We talked a lot about these themes.

Skye: Exclusively for Holy Post Plus subscribers! 

Kaitlyn: But here’s what’s so frustrating about people saying, “Oh, this is proof he’s Marxist.” He’s in line with Pope Francis, and he’s in line with Pope Leo XIII. Rerum Novarum is this really beautiful encyclical that manages to do what I wish more Christian theology would do—which is to look at the underlying motivations for the debates happening at the time.

Communism, socialism, capitalism—those economic and political systems were all in conversation, and what Leo XIII spends a lot of the encyclical doing is exploring the underlying concerns people had. Not just concerns about ownership or participation in the market, but much deeper concerns about a full human life: what does it mean to live well in community? What does it mean to be connected to the products you create with your hands? He’s addressing that deep human need.

And he says: socialism? Not the answer. Capitalism? Not great either. But we’re trying to figure out how to respond to these needs in a faithful Christian way. So for people to look back and say, “Choosing the name Leo means he’s a Marxist”—if you actually go and read Rerum Novarum, that’s an insane thing to say.

To me, what it means is: this pope is going to be in the same line as Francis, but maybe with some slightly different emphases. A pope who wants to deeply engage social and political questions—and if it’s in line with Pope Leo XIII, not by taking a partisan stand, but by interrogating the underlying questions of the human condition. Questions that Christian theology has a lot to say to. And that’s a beautiful way for both a church leader and a theologian to engage.

Phil: So are you saying that Pope Leo XIII was not a Marxist?

Kaitlyn: Not a Marxist. In fact, if you read Rerum Novarum, he has some harsh words for Marxist ways of thinking.

Phil: I don’t want to read it. I just want to say Rerum Novarum over and over. And then I wave my wand and you grow hair or something happens.

Skye: But okay—I haven’t read Rerum Novarum, but I did read Pope John Paul II. He was writing during the Cold War. I don’t remember if it was an encyclical. But what was interesting about that Cold War era is that he—being from Poland, obviously under Soviet control—had a lot of criticisms of communism. Which I expected. Most people did.

But I was surprised to see him also turn his attention to the dehumanizing effects of capitalism. He recognized the problem with both systems, even while being staunchly anti-communist. So it sounds like Leo XIII—and maybe we can expect the same from Leo XIV—is not going to throw his lot in with any one economic or political philosophy. Instead, he’ll say: “Here’s what my faith in Christ, and my commitment to the Church’s teachings, lead me to believe about the positives and negatives of these systems.”

Phil: Yeah, but you can’t start with the teachings of Christ and then look at the world. You have to start with which economic system you’re supposed to like—and then look at the teachings of Christ.

Skye: Leo XIV has already come out and said he has concerns about the current era and the dehumanizing effects of things like artificial intelligence.

Phil: Later today, I’m going to yell Rerum Novarum while I’m riding on my encyclical.