According to a report, the new pope, Robert Francis Prevost who became pope Leo XIV has been described by a former roommate as outgoing, down to earth and very concerned with the poor. Reportedly, pope Leo was born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of spanish and french/italian descent, both his parents were involved in the parish. According to the report, he served as an alter boy, was ordained in 1982 and moved to Peru three years later where he worked training young priests and teaching canon law. Reportedly, he is remembered for his work with marginalised communities and for helping to build bridges.
According to the report, Leo became arch Bishop in January 2023 and later that year Francis made him cardinal. Reportedly, he is the first member of the Augustine order to be elected pope. Thomas Aquinas, up to now one of the most influential theologians in the catholic tradition and Augustine have different attitudes to philosophy. Aquinas presented logical proofs that God exists while Augustine offered individual ways to know a God that he turned to in a search for life’s basic questions following a young life of physical excess. With Augustine the accent was on a personal spiritual experience rather than the sacraments, he particularly didn’t like the sacrament of confession. Anglicans are part of the Augustine tradition and ecumenicals may prefer Augustine. Time will tell if pope Leo will continue Francis’s reforms.
Choosing the name Leo may be significant. According to the report, the first pontiff called Leo (440-461) met Attilla the Hun and persuaded him not to attack Rome, and the last pontiff named Leo (1878-1903) wrote a treatise on workers’ rights.