Pope Leo XIV | Alumni Magazine Summer 2025

 

The period of interregnum, which concluded with the election of Pope Leo XIV, was lived within the greater context of the Jubilee Year. It was a great coincidence—or rather providential—that these two temporary and intense moments in the life of the Church would be lived at the same time. Because of this coincidence, the theme of the Jubilee Year resounded in my thoughts throughout the days leading up to the conclave: we are pilgrims of hope. Hope is one of the theological virtues, an essential element in the life of a Christian because hope orients our faith; it is with the hope of the Resurrection that we celebrate this Easter season and prayed for Pope Francis, it is with the hope in the forgiveness of our sins that we make our way to the Holy Door during this Jubilee, and it was with hope that over a billion faithful across the world waited for the celebrated words, “habemus papam!” The time to prepare the conclave, which also coincided with a time of mourning for the passing of Pope Francis, and the short couple of days in which the Church around the world waited for the smoke and bells in St. Peter’s Square could be seen as an enormous exercise in Christian hope.

 

It was in the spirit of hope that Pope Leo XIV was welcomed by the faithful of every nationality on earth converging on St. Peter’s Square. As the white smoke billowed out from the Sistine Chapel’s roof and the bells resounded throughout Rome, the whole city and the world found a place to stand at St. Peter’s. They are like pilgrims of hope that went out to see the answer to so many prayers and the renewal of Christ’s own message that we will hear at the end of Eastertide: “I am with you always.” The Lord would not leave his Church too long without her visible head, and the hope of all who waited patiently as the Cardinals did their job was not in vain. The hope of so many faithful was fulfilled when we heard the words “peace be with all of you!”

 

The Pope’s first words to the city and the world were forceful and confident, speaking of the peace of knowing that Christ will always be with us, even when evil in the world tries to deprive us of that hope of peace. That same confidence was back again the following day at the Pope’s first Mass of Thanksgiving with the Cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel, as he sang the Mass and spoke with clarity and conviction. In a subtle way, the Pope has already demonstrated versatility in expression by speaking in Italian, Spanish, Latin, and English. His long experience in Peru, coupled with growing up in Chicago, certainly creates a bridge between northern and southern hemispheres, something which we might well relate to in Florida. In Rome, the question all around town is now “who is he, how is he going to be?” I answer that with the same hope and patience that brought us our new pope, we shall also get to know Pope Leo XIV.

 

By Vatican News

 

Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms offers a clear reflection of his Augustinian roots and the values he seeks to promote during his pontificate, particularly unity and communion within the Church.

 

The shield is divided diagonally into two sections. The upper half features a blue background with a white lily.

 

The lower half of the shield has a light background and displays an image that recalls the Order of Saint Augustine: a closed book with a heart pierced by an arrow. This is a direct reference to the conversion experience of Saint Augustine himself, who described his personal encounter with God’s Word using the phrase: “Vulnerasti cor meum verbo tuo” - “You have pierced my heart with your Word.”

 

Pope Leo XIV has also chosen a motto that reflects this Augustinian tradition: In Illo uno unum, which means “In the One, we are one.” The phrase is taken from Saint Augustine’s Exposition on Psalm 127, where he explains that “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.”

 

In a 2023 interview with Vatican News’ Tiziana Campisi, then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost spoke about the significance of this motto: “As can be seen from my episcopal motto, unity and communion are truly part of the charism of the Order of Saint Augustine, and also of my way of acting and thinking,” he said. “I believe it is very important to promote communion in the Church, and we know well that communion, participation, and mission are the three key words of the Synod. So, as an Augustinian, for me promoting unity and communion is fundamental.”

 

Saint Augustine’s reflection on Psalm 127 highlights the theological foundation of this idea. “Christ - head and body - is one single man. And what is the body of Christ? His Church,” Augustine writes. He then adds, “Although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one. We are many and we are one - because we are united to Him, and if our Head is in heaven, the members will follow.”