Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected Leader of the Catholic Church, has given his “reasons” for choosing the name Leo XIV.
The first ever American Pontiff said, “I chose to take the name Leo XIV for different reasons.”
Pope Leo XIV was elected new Sovereign of the Vatican City State following the passing of Pope Francis, who passed on Easter Monday, 21 April, 2025 at the age of eighty-eight (88).
A Conclave of 133 Cardinals inside the enclosed Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome, Italy cast their ballots on Wednesday 7 May, 2025 when the Conclave began, but, black smoke was seen from the Chapel’s chimney; and was seen again on Thursday morning, meaning no Pope elected.
Later on Thursday 8 May, 2025, white smoke billowed from the Chapel’s chimney indicating a new Pope has been elected.
According to Vatican News (X/@VaticanNews), telling why he chose his name, Pope Leo XIV said: “”… I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.””
Photo: Pope Leo XIV holds first mass with Cardinals after emerging new Leader of Catholic Church
