So far, Pope Leo XIV has leaned fairly heavily into the legacy of his storied predecessor, Leo XIII, the long-reigning pope elected as a compromise candidate who was expected to live only a few years in office but gave the Church and the world – among other things – the seminal document on Catholic social teaching.
Leo XIV quoted Leo XIII in his first official remarks to cardinals following his election on 8 May, and again in his homily during his official inauguration this Sunday.
He quoted the late 19th-century pontiff – Leo XIII, who was pope from 1878 until 1903 – at the end of his homily:
