On May 8, 2025, white smoke rose over the Sistine Chapel and the world heard "Habemus Papam." Journalists gathered at the top of the arm of Bernini Colonnade in Rome, upon hearing from Cardinal Dominique Mamberti: "Robertum Franciscum sanctae Romanae ecclesae cardinalem Prevost," frantically asked: "Chi è?" – or "who is" the new pope?
Today, we know a lot more about Cardinal Robert Prevost turned Pope Leo XIV. A year after his first words to the world were "Peace be with you all,” he has emerged as a pope of order for times of global chaos.
A global leader with a difference
George Weigel, an American Catholic theologian and author of the iconic biography of St. John Paul II, "Witness to Hope," reflected that "the pope is by definition a global leader. He is the head of a church of 1.4 billion members, and he represents an ancient religious tradition that has lots of things to say about the 21st century."
But "he’s a global leader with a difference. He doesn't operate out of a national power base. He has no real economic power," Weigel told Polish "Tygodnik Powszechny," or "Universal Weekly," in a conversation with OSV News' international editor.
"So in all of the normal registers of power, he's not a powerful person," Weigel said. "And yet because he speaks for that ancient tradition, and he can bring moral power to bear in a world where that still counts, as (St.) John Paul II proved during his pontificate, the world pays attention to the pope."
Weigel added that when the pope, on the night of his election, began by quoting Jesus Christ, he was "declaring that this is going to be a pontificate centered on Christ because he understands, as John Paul II understood, that Christ reveals the truth about the human person," and in this, Pope Leo seems to constantly remind that: "My message is the Gospel. I'm not an umpire in a global soccer match. I'm not a referee. I'm the preacher of the Gospel," Weigel said.
In recent weeks, Pope Leo seemed to strategically remind the world about this primary mission of the successor of Peter when he answered U.S President Donald Trump, lashing out on the pontiff for criticizing leaders waging wars.
Pope Leo has been a staunch critic of warfare generally, including the combat operations initiated by the U.S. and Israel in a surprise attack against Iran on Feb. 28. He also condemned Trump’s threat to wipe out Iran’s “whole civilization” as “truly unacceptable.”
Speaking aboard the papal plane en route from Rome to Algiers, the pope said that he had seen Trump’s social media post criticizing him.
“I have no fear neither of the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do,” the pope said during the flight in a video recorded by OSV News.
In times of "a huge global chaos of new empires, the Vatican has remained one of the very few voices of global prudence," Massimo Faggioli, professor in ecclesiology at the Loyola Institute at Trinity College Dublin, told OSV News' international editor in the "Universal Weekly's" cover story.
Augustinian roots of order
Faggioli underlined that Fr. Prevost "was trained as a lawyer," and is a pope of order – "but not in the sense of law and order – those who want to get rid of the bad guys – but order in the sense of disposition, of control of yourself."
"Augustinians know that it's about getting control of your passions, of your instincts," Faggioli said. "The order of love, or the Ordo Amoris, is much bigger than integration."
Pope Leo is "very much a controlled person, but not because of a psychology, but because it is a habit that comes from the foundation of the order that is about getting things in the proper order," Faggioli explained.
"An Augustinian order is a mix between mendicant orders and monasticism. And so there is a monastic vein in him that is very different from the Jesuit (Pope) Francis," Faggioli said.
"The priority is on meditation, on contemplation, on prayer ... which leads to doing certain things. The emphasis is on internal transformation, internal conversion ... and it's different from discernment. Discernment is something that – for Francis – we do together. For Leo, I think he understands this as a very personal dimension of internal transformation."
And that is an Augustinian within Pope Leo.
"I think the most famous single sentence written by St. Augustine comes from Confessions, Book Ten: 'You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You,'" Weigel said.
"That line really captures the heart of his thought. At the core of Augustine's theology is the conviction that Jesus Christ is the answer to the question that every human person embodies. And he saw his mission as proclaiming that truth."
"He understands, as John Paul II did, that Christ reveals the truth about the human person -- who we are, where we come from, and what our destiny is," Weigel said. "I think this will be a central theme throughout his pontificate. It touches on a wide range of issues: international relations, religious freedom, the organization of economies, medical ethics, and human relationships. With Christ at the center, that, I believe, is the defining message of this pontificate."
Chicago roots, global vision
The 70-year-old Chicago native brings to the papacy not only theological depth but also a political savvy forged in one of America's most storied cities of politics. His understanding of modern politics derives both from his wisdom and his Chicago roots – a city where politics operates on a grand scale.
"Chicago is called the Windy City not because of its weather, but because of its political history," said Gretchen R. Crowe, editor-in-chief for OSV News.
It is "very much in the lifeblood of the city to think and speak politics on a daily basis" – and having a Chicago-born pope, we can rest assured he understands politics, and is a wise observer of what's going on on a global stage around him, Crowe emphasized.
The difference he makes in world affairs also comes from the sole fact that he speaks English with an American accent.
"To hear Pope Leo speaking in English, first of all, then speaking with an American accent, speaking so clearly and articulately about the current American global political situation, shows that he is paying attention, that he isn't afraid to speak when he feels like he could have a role to play, especially when it comes to being a peacemaker for situations of conflict around the world," Crowe added.
A pontificate of prudence
Weigel stressed that facing huge global challenges it is “very important for the pope to be prudent in his deployment" of his moral power – and using his voice wisely is crucial in the world obsessed with social media spins.
"If he has an opinion on everything, it diminishes the value of his voice when speaking on matters, where he has specific authority. I don't like the practice of the pope sending out tweets and similar messages – it risks spending down that capital. But on major issues of moral consequence, including what I consider the defining question of our time – who we are as human beings – his voice is essential."
And the voice of Pope Leo is shaped by St. Augustine.
"I think the most famous single sentence written by St. Augustine comes from Confessions, Book Ten: 'You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You,'" Weigel said. "That line really captures the heart of his thought. At the core of Augustine's theology is the conviction that Jesus Christ is the answer to the question that every human person embodies. And he saw his mission as proclaiming that truth."
Faggioli meanwhile noted that Pope Leo is "both cautious and careful and not making headlines" on hot-button issues such as LGBTQ+ and other controversial topics. "He doesn't want to do that. But he is also someone that I don't think has any fear of saying certain things when the moment requires that."
Collegiality renewed
The pope's commitment to order is visible on another important dimension – collegiality, especially evident during his historic extraordinary consistory in January.
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who served as the cardinal-prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 until 2017, told OSV News after the January consistory that with the meeting – planned to convene regularly, and with the next one set for end of June – Pope Leo renewed the importance of the College of Cardinals.
"Initiative of the Holy Father to strengthen and to renew the importance of the Holy College of the Cardinals is not only a personal, individual instinct to use it not, but is a representation of the Holy Roman Church who has, together with the pope, the primacy in all the communio ecclesiarum," Cardinal Müller said.
He said that during the consistory he thanked "the Holy Father in the name of countless faithful that he is preaching Christ centered," reminding the faithful that the "task of the successor of St. Peter is to unite all the bishops, the local churches and all the faithful in the faith in Jesus Christ, the son of the living God and the only Saviour of the world".
Cardinals from all corners of the universal Church, also ideologically speaking, praised the pope for the trust he put in the college of cardinals, bringing them for a January meeting right after closing the Jubilee doors. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, relator general of the synod, told OSV News:
"He's a very good leader, and he's a very careful listener. He listens to everybody, which does not mean that he agrees with everybody. And he's a mathematician, so he is reflecting and praying about what he hears. And when time comes, he will make decisions."
"He's deeply rooted in the religious life of the Augustinians. So he can also help us to discover synodal routes in the religious tradition of the Church, which can be a help for us," the cardinal added.
A work in progress
"This papacy, like most, is a work in progress," Weigel concluded. "What we've seen over the last year is the growth of a converted Christian disciple into a new vocation, the vocation of the office of Peter."
"I think in a world of screamers, he's a nice, quiet, steady voice," the American theologian emphasized, adding that Pope Leo tells the world "look at Christ. Look at the Church."
"When he came out on the loggia of the basilica on election night and presented himself to the world in the traditional fashion, I was asked on American television, “What does this mean?’ And I said, it means that he understands that this office has its own integrity. And it's not all about him. He's the servant of the tradition of the papacy. He's not the master of it. And I think that's how he's conducted himself," Weigel said of a memorable election night of the American pontiff.
