Pope Leo XIV.
That’s the name Cardinal Robert Prevost opted to take on Thursday after becoming the first American pope elected in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.
The 69-year-old’s chosen name — an apparent nod to Saint Leo the Great — was unveiled just moments before the new pontiff appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to greet the tens of thousands of worshippers below.
For nearly 1,500 years, the leader of the Catholic Church has opted to change his name following his election.
While there are set rules that dictate how the pontiff can choose their papal name, many choose to stick with tradition and honor one of their many predecessors.
The last pope to take the name Leo came more than a century ago when Pope Leo XIII led the church from 1878 to 1903.
The first to use the name, Pope Leo the Great, led the church between 440 and 461.
It wasn’t immediately clear how Pope Leo XIV reached his decision, but Father Ed Tomlinson, a Catholic priest from the UK, said the name represents stoicism.
“The papal name Leo unsurprisingly shows a Pope who is going to be strong during a time of crisis, historically,” Tomlinson told The Independent.
Check here for live updates on Pope Leo XIV, the newly chosen pontiff
Edward Deser, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Pasadena City College in California, said that the choice shows that the new pope has a deep respect for tradition and history.
“Pope Leo XIV’s choices to take a traditional name and to appear in traditional papal garb – as Benedict XVI did and Francis did not – are small but encouraging signs of a man who subordinates himself to the papal office and understands the importance of continuity with the past,” he wrote on X.
The late Pope Francis, meanwhile, was among the leaders who opted to name himself after a saint — with his entry being the first in centuries to add a new name that had not previously appeared on the papal registry.
Originally from Chicago, the newly elected pontiff spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and became a cardinal only in 2023.
