Pope Leo XIV visits Francis' tomb, says he wants to uphold 'precious legacy'
Pope Leo XIV held his first meeting with cardinals since his May 8 election and offered a glimpse into his vision for the Church.
Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on Pope Leo XIV for Saturday, May 10. For the latest, view our story for Sunday, May 11.
Pope Leo XIV paid respects at the tomb of Pope Francis on May 10, after signaling in a meeting with senior Church leaders he would continue his predecessor's legacy of reforms.
The new pope laid a white flower on Francis' tomb at the St. Mary Major Basilica, where the last pope was laid to rest after his death on April 21. The visit to the tomb occurred during Leo's first trip beyond the Vatican as pope. The new U.S.-born pontiff also went to the town of Genazzano an hour away from the Vatican to visit a shrine to the Virgin Mary.
During his first meeting with the cardinals earlier on May 10, one of Leo's first official duties, the pope gave early insight into the answer to the question posed by the election of a new pope: Would the Church embrace Francis' reform-minded progressivism, or usher in a more traditional approach?
"Let us take up this precious legacy and continue on the journey," he told the cardinals.
Leo, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was chosen as the 267th pope on May 8. The 69-year-old Chicago native is the first pope from the United States in the Catholic Church's history, stunning many who thought a U.S. pope was a long shot. He's a dual citizen of Peru, bringing many years of experience there as a missionary to his new role.
Leo XIV meets with cardinals for the first time as pope
In Leo's first meeting with all the cardinals, the new pope took a different approach than previous popes. Instead of giving a speech, Leo gave his remarks on May 10 and then opened the floor for comments and concerns from the cardinals.
"He listened very carefully, but he knows he's going to have to make the decisions," Irish Cardinal Sean Brady told Reuters. "But we're here to help him."
He also gave insight into why he selected his papal name. During the meeting, he said he chose it partly to honor Pope Leo XIII, who served from 1878 to 1903 and was known for his focus on social justice and workers' rights during the industrial revolution.
Leo XIV said workers face a new threat of artificial intelligence, which poses "new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor."
Leo said Francis, who served 12 years as pontiff, "left an "example of complete dedication to service," citing Francis' emphasis on "courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities."
Pope Leo didn't play tag as a kid. He played priest, brother says
In the early 1960s, while his brothers played tag in their Chicago neighborhood, 6-year-old Robert Prevost preferred to play priest. He gave out communion and neighbors said that someday, little Robert would end up as the pope.
Turns out they were right.
Priesthood was something that Pope Leo XIV had his eyes on as a freshman in high school, Louis Prevost, the new pope's brother, told the Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, part of the Paste BN Network. While they grew up in a traditional Catholic family, pursuing leadership roles within the church was never something that their parents thrust on them.
Louis Prevost believes that his mom thought young Robert would go high up in the church, but he’s not so sure if the papacy ever crossed his parents' minds.
“Odds are it might’ve killed them,” Louis Prevost joked about his parents if they were alive and heard the news about their son becoming the pope.
Robert Prevost's ascension to Pope Leo XIV this week is still mind-blowing to Louis Prevost. He said he is equal parts excited, happy, mind-blown and a little worried about how the papacy will impact his relationship with his youngest brother.
“We can only hope that we can maintain that closeness, and we don't do anything to embarrass him,” Louis Prevost, a Navy veteran, said with a chuckle.
-Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
What are Leo's views on LGBTQ+ issues? Advocates hopeful
Advocates for the LGBTQ+ community praised Pope Francis for his outreach and credited him with moving the Catholic Church away from condemnation and towards tolerance and embrace.
Now, the outlook is murkier as Pope Leo XIV succeeds Francis as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, but advocates say they remain hopeful that he will echo the late pontiff's approach on LGBTQ+ issues, one that distinguished Francis from his more conservative predecessors.
“We’re going to take a wait-and-see approach,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a national Catholic outreach group promoting LGBTQ acceptance and equity. “There’s a great possibility that he will have a positive effect on LGBTQ ministry.”
The new pope hasn’t said much on the subject, and what little he has said has indicated a less open attitude. But advocates point out that those statements were made years ago, and they hope Francis had an influence on him.
According to the College of Cardinals Report, Leo, as Robert F. Prevost, expressed concerns in 2012 that Western culture promoted “sympathy for beliefs and practices that contradict the gospel” regarding the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families made up of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”
-Marc Ramirez, Paste BN
Chicagoans remember their old classmate Robert
At St. Mary of the Assumption school in Chicago’s southern suburbs, Robert Prevost was quiet, kind and studious. Mostly, he wanted to be a priest. By the time his small class graduated from the eighth grade in 1969, many had jettisoned the idea of becoming a priest or nun, according to former classmates. Prevost never wavered. Instead of the local high school, he went to a seminary.
Earlier this week, former classmates of the since-shuttered parish school saw their text messages light up as white smoke poured from the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and they heard the unlikely news.
“Oh my God, he's actually the pope,” said Marianne Angarola, 69, a former classmate who was proud to have shared her early parish experiences with the new pontiff.
“He was kind and he was good,” Angarola said. “And he was very smart.”
Peggy Wurtz, 69, another classmate, recalled Leo singing during Mass on Christmas Eve. “Robert was just always a gentle soul” with a calm demeanor and serene smile, she said.
-Chris Kenning and Michael Loria, Paste BN
Contributing: Reuters