Why "Leo XIV" Matters

What the name of the new pope means for public leadership in tumultuous times

As a Catholic, I’m grateful for the election of a new pope. As a patriot, I’m excited that he’s the first American pope. As a student and advocate of Catholic Social Teaching, I’m thrilled he took the name “Leo XIV.”

What’s in a Name

Upon elevation by the voting cardinals, a new pope traditionally takes a new name that signals something about his priorities. For instance, in 2013 Cardinal Bergoglio, a Jesuit, took the name Pope Francis after St. Francis of Assisi who was known for his devotion to the poor. Yesterday afternoon, Chicago-born, Villanova-educated Cardinal Robert Prevost positioned himself as the successor to Leo XIII, who was pope from 1878 to 1903 and is regarded as among the most consequential popes of modern times.

Why did Leo XIII earn that reputation?

He is credited with founding or at least energizing modern Catholic Social Teaching (CST), which is the body of Catholic doctrine associated with public life. Think of it as the set of principles that define the Church’s (and the Catholic faithful’s) engagement in society—family, neighborhoods, voluntary associations, governments.

During the papacy of Leo XIII, the Church issued in 1891 arguably the most important modern encyclical Rerum Novarum (“Of New Things"). This book-length document masterfully explicated Catholic principles in the era of mass industrialization, budding statism, and expanding democracy. It wisely repudiated the then-stylish view that centralized government authority was the solution to poverty and social unrest, and it recognized that capitalism needed to exist inside a moral framework if it were to advance the public interest. In time, that document helped shape the Church’s posture toward private property, labor groups, charity toward the disadvantaged, public virtue, markets, localism, public service, and more.

In fact, many of the Church’s key social doctrines today can be traced back to (or at least through) Rerum Novarum. If you want to understand the foundation of subsidiarity, solidarity, the common good, or social justice, that’s as a good a place to start as any.

Leo XIII’s encyclical was so important that two of the most important subsequent encyclicals are literally named in reference to it: The 1931 Quadragesimo Anno (“In the 40th Year“) and the 1991 Centesimus Annus (“The 100th Year). Both build on the themes from the original and apply the lessons to contemporary events. In my long articles and essays about CST and policy, many of my citations are from these three encyclicals and the compendia they inform. That’s how smart and authoritative they are. And how relevant their arguments are to public life today, even though they are 134, 94, and 34 years old.

By choosing the name Leo XIV, the new pope is putting himself into this tradition.

Today’s Tumultuous Topics

Here’s why I’m thrilled about that decision.

I use CST in my thinking and writing about governing for three reasons. First, at heart, it’s moral. I spend a lot of time thinking about process and systems. CST provides direction and energy. Second, like the common law or tradition, it is sturdy and wise because it has been constructed and evolved over time. Third, it is constantly in conversation with the real lives of real people in real time. For these reasons, it has a well-earned quiet confidence. It is firm but responsive, timeless but timely. In fact, when I hold policy and social views that are out of vogue (like my focus on community when libertarianism was ascendant, my focus on virtue, experience, prudence, and humility when bellicosity and radicalism are in style), it’s often because I think there are essential, under-appreciated principles at play—principles that shouldn’t be discarded because of the zeitgeist. Those principles are often found in CST.

I believe that we are in a period (nationally and globally) that could use some CST-informed leadership. The world faces a bevy of serious challenges—not unlike those faced in 1891, 1931, and 1991—that don’t easily map onto the contemporary political landscape. I don’t believe that European-style progressivism has the answers. Not do I believe that populism or nationalism will generally point us in the right direction. To be more specific, we need morally-rooted, time-tested, adaptable principles for dealing with threats posed by rise of AI, the loss of community, the decline in marriage and fertility rates, the ambitions of China, the destabilization caused by rapid immigration, the social costs of social media, the weakening of democracy, the stubbornness of deaths of despair, and so much more.

In 1891, Pope Leo XIII was able to see and address the political and social dangers of his time. What’s more, his principles-based approach revitalized the Church’s engagement in the world’s biggest issues. His example helped Pope Pius XI in 1931 address statism, fascism, and alienation and Pope Saint John Paul II in 1991 address the coming post-Cold War era.

Obviously we should not expect the new pope to solve all of the world’s family, economic, immigration, diplomatic, and technological challenges.

But, I have to say, taking the name Leo XIV is a very good start.