What the first two months of Leo XIV have shown

A week ago, Leo XIV began his summer vacation, which coincided with his appointment as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church two months earlier. In this short time, Robert Francis Prevost has expressed his interest in unifying the Church and reclaiming the papal role, leading experts to predict a more classic pontificate than that of his Argentine predecessor, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

"Prudent," "listening," and "methodical" are the adjectives most often used by his collaborators to describe the first American pope with Peruvian nationality , who was elected by the conclave on May 8.

Francis was very popular among the faithful, but faced fierce internal opposition. Since his arrival in 2013, the Jesuit broke with traditional norms by exchanging the papal palace for a more modest residence. For his part, Leo XIV showed himself to be more cautious, integrating himself into historical tradition and also multiplying his speeches, avoiding offending sensibilities .

Aside from Masses and public audiences, the Augustinian pontiff appears smiling and affable. He can be seen blessing children or joining the choir of Chicago White Sox fans—the Pope's favorite baseball team—during a tour in the Popemobile through St. Peter's Square.

Along with this closeness to the faithful, Prevost, a reserved polyglot who served as a missionary in Peru—his adopted country—for nearly two decades, has maintained a measured and respectful approach to protocol. “His style is full of simplicity: he has a presence that doesn't impose itself on others. With him, it's more important to focus on the substance than on appearances,” Roberto Regoli, a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, told AFP.

His style is full of simplicity: it's a presence that doesn't overpower others. With him, it's important to focus on the content rather than appearances.

Charles Mercier, professor of contemporary history at the University of Bordeaux in France, emphasizes that Prévost preaches with his actions "a relative discretion behind the function." "Francis had a charisma that he demonstrated through his personality . Leo seems to want to integrate himself into an institution—the papal office—that surpasses him," Mercier notes.

Within the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Holy See, his collaborators describe him as a pragmatic, calm, measured, methodical, thoughtful man who "concerns himself with balance." Rather flattering messages.

In two months, Leo XIV has restored courage to the institutions of the Holy See, after 12 years of leadership considered by some to be too rigid. “The Curia was shaken by Pope Francis, who implemented reforms, sometimes unilaterally, even authoritarianly. And they were often poorly perceived,” says a Vatican source who requested anonymity. “The arrival of Prevost, who has a good reputation, was a relief. We believe that things will now be more fluid, less personal,” he adds.

On May 24, less than 20 days after his election, the Augustinian made a statement during a meeting with Vatican workers that sounded positive to the sector that felt sidelined during Francis's pontificate: "Popes come and go, the Curia remains." The idea is completely opposite to the Argentine's comments in 2014, when he harshly criticized the worldliness and hypocrisy of the high clergy.

According to a European diplomatic source, the Pope is "coddling" the Curia. "He's working toward unity, exactly what he was elected to do," analyzes another diplomat close to the Holy See. In some of his Masses, he has spoken of building bridges, of not closing doors, of listening and not judging.

Leo XIV, who arrived in the midst of the Jubilee – the Church's Holy Year, with a huge number of events in Rome – echoed Catholic doctrine on priestly celibacy, same-sex marriage, and abortion.

“Marriage is not an ideal, but the model of true love between man and woman: total, faithful, and fruitful love,” he said at a Mass before 60,000 faithful from more than 130 countries who traveled to Rome for the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly.

In that same homily, Leo XIV criticized the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, describing it as a betrayal of humanity . “For example, when freedom is invoked not to give life, but to take it; not to protect, but to wound,” he declared more than a month ago.

On the diplomatic front, the 69-year-old Pope has reiterated his calls for peace in a "martyred" Ukraine and in Gaza, he denounced the use of hunger as a weapon of war . He has spoken with both Volodymyr Zelensky (with whom he has met in person twice) and Vladimir Putin, inviting both to negotiate peace in the Vatican.

During his phone call with the Russian president on June 4, Leo XIV asked him to "make a gesture in favor of peace." A request Francis was never able to make, having ceased direct contact with Putin since the end of 2021.

For the moment , Prevost has avoided openly criticizing US President Donald Trump, as he had previously done as a cardinal. On an X account attributed to him, he shared articles or messages from other people against the Republican. “There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children from their parents and stores them in cages. This is being perpetrated in our name and shame falls on us all,” reads a tweet reposted by the account under the name Robert Prevost.

Although he receives bishops, cardinals, diplomats, and heads of state every day, Leo XIV has so far made no international trips or important appointments, leaving the replacement of several heads of strategic departments who have reached the age limit on hold .

Nor has he given any indication of how the work will be carried out to continue to clean up the Holy See's failing finances, nor the fight against the sexual scandals that continue to cast a shadow over the Church. For now, he has only appointed French Monsignor Thibault Verny, Archbishop of Chambéry and Bishop of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Tarentaise, as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors . "He is an outsider, not a member of the Roman Curia, and I think he is important because he will be a symbol of how to address the issue of abuse. Leo XIV is working for a united Church, which does not mean uniformity," Eva Fernández, a correspondent for Cope radio, told La Nación Argentina.

Leo XIV is working for a united Church, which does not mean uniformity.

While Francis quickly made migration a priority, León's trademark is still difficult to identify. With his choice of name, he outlined points of interest related to social justice. He has also spoken about synodality and the challenges of artificial intelligence .

On a symbolic level, Leo XIV's return to some traditions has not gone unnoticed . The Supreme Pontiff announced that he will spend a few days of rest in the "Palace of the Popes" of Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, where Francis never visited, and that in the autumn he would move into the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace, currently under renovation, according to Vatican sources.

In terms of clothing, the former bishop of Chiclayo returned to the use of the red mozzetta, a type of short cloak that covers the back and chest to the elbows, and the stole. These garments are prized by a segment of the Church that criticized Francis for distorting the papal role, amid strong internal tensions between liberal Catholics and those attached to liturgical tradition.

"There is a concern about symbolic rebalancing, undoubtedly due to the desire to reunite the Catholic flock, which seemed to become polarized under Francis' pontificate. It may also be a strategy to provide symbolic reassurances and make progress on the substance," added Charles Mercier.

However, for Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, former director of Civiltá Cattolica and number three at the Dicastery for Culture and Education, symbols carry the least weight, given that his speech has already outlined the approach he wants to deliver: openness.

(*) With additional information from EL TIEMPO