The cardinals who elected Pope Leo XIV weren’t looking for a carbon copy of Francis—or for someone who would depart dramatically from Francis in tone and style. They wanted a pastor: a missionary, humble and credible, and a man of deep listening.
Following the conclave, Gerard O’Connell conducted a series of interviews with cardinal-electors from around the world. In this episode, we share these early, candid impressions—brief but revealing insights into how these cardinals see Pope Leo’s emerging pontificate. Gerry notes, “they quickly converged around a candidate they saw as a continuation of Francis, but also bringing something new.”
The cardinals repeatedly mention Pope Leo’s missionary identity, his capacity for deep listening and his humility. But above all, they emphasize his credibility. “Synodality was the last baby born in the Francis pontificate,” Gerry says, “and they want that baby to grow up.”
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Also in this episode:
- At his first priestly ordinations in Rome, Pope Leo urged the new priests to live “lives that are known, lives that can be read, lives that are credible.”
- At the Jubilee Mass for Families, he defended the Christian vision of marriage and family. Though some saw this as signaling a return to a firmer stance, Gerry says this teaching has long been upheld by popes in living memory.
- And Pope Leo blessed riders of the Giro d’Italia as the race passed through the Vatican Gardens.
Plus: What’s still expected this summer from Pope Leo XIV—including a major Vatican meeting with over 100 papal diplomats, the Jubilee of the Holy See and several key Vatican appointments yet to be announced.
Links from the show
- Pope Leo visits papal villa and former summer residence in Castel Gandolfo
- Pope Leo: Families are the cradle of the future of humanity
- Pope Leo asks newly ordained priests to be signs of reconciliation in the church and world
- Cardinal Rossi: Pope Leo’s greatest challenge will be world peace
- Cardinal Steiner on how Pope Leo will follow Pope Francis—and how he’ll chart his own path
- Cardinal Gracias: Pope Leo ‘is the ideal man to lead the church at this time’
- Cardinal McElroy on Pope Leo’s missionary past and if Trump influenced the conclave
- Cardinal Czerny on if Pope Leo is a new Francis, a new Benedict—or something else
- Cardinal Chow on the conclave: We voted for a pastor for the world
- Interview: Chicago’s Cardinal Cupich on why the cardinals chose Pope Leo XIV
