It’s one of the most powerful symbols marking the start of a new papacy. At the end of the conclave, the name of the new pope will be announced by the cardinal protodeacon from the central balcony of St.

used by 13 popes before him dating back to the 5th century. To understand his choice, it's important to know why popes are renamed once elected. For most of the Catholic Church's first millennium, popes used their given names. The practice of adopting a ...

The regnal name that Cardinal Robert Prevost chose, Leo XIV, has beautiful and powerful resonance for anyone familiar with the history of the Church.

One of the most famous is Leo the Great, who served as pope in the 5th century and famously convinced Attila the Hun to spare Rome. Choosing the name Leo connects the new pope to a legacy of ...

Pope Leo XIV's recent public blessing and visit to Marian sites highlight the central role of Virgin Mary veneration in Catholicism. From the title of "Mother of God" to various apparitions and personal intercessions,

As contemporary as they sound, these lines come from his 19th-century predecessor, Pope Leo XIII. The encyclical was entitled “ Rerum Novarum ,” after its opening words, which my prosaic Latin renders as “new things.”

According to Vatican News, he is the first Augustinian pope. The requirements and ethos of the order are traced to the fifth century St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the theological and devotional ...