Leo XIV. The Pope Who Came for Peace

In the late afternoon of May 8, after just four ballots, the new pope of the Catholic Church was elected. In the frantic predictions circulating in the preceding days, his name was certainly not among the most popular. For this reason, many were surprised to see Robert Francis Prevost appear on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, the first North American (and Augustinian) to become pontiff. He chose the name Leo XIV, continuing the legacy of Leo XIII, who went down in history for the encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” with which the Church took a position on social issues for the first time. At a difficult time for the planet, amid ongoing and impending wars, an economy in crisis, difficulties in international dialogue, and social conflicts, there is hope that this pope can open new paths toward peace and brotherhood. In continuity with Francis, the word peace was among the first and most frequently spoken by Peter's new successor. For many years the bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, Prevost has always shown special concern for the least fortunate and the poor, without ever losing sight of God's centrality. His is a name that, it is hoped, will succeed in bringing the entire Church together and keeping it united: for many, his figure represents a synthesis between the institutional Church and the missionary Church. Piemme Editions