What themes does Pope Leo XIV carry into his papacy from his namesake, Pope Leo XIII?

Pope Leo XIII was known as the "Pope of the East." He was actually listening to many of the patriarchs at the time who were opposed to a lot of the colonization that was happening—and Latinization. So, in my mind, it's notable that one of Pope Leo XIV's first addresses was to the Eastern Catholic Churches and that his first papal visit was to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of Nicaea [an ecumenical council that was among the first efforts to attain theological consensus among Christians].

To me, it signals his recognition of the concentric circles of unity that are needed. First of all, we Catholics have to figure out our own unity. But then what does it mean to be in right relationship with Churches that have equal dignity in terms of their apostolic heritage and have drifted away for historical reasons? I think Pope Leo XIV is trying to listen to the cry of our generation, and younger generations, and help us all discern what is the right response.

Leo XIII had followed Saint Augustine in saying that there can be no peace, except peace understood as a "tranquility of order," where order means that all things are ordered according to the will of Christ. What Leo XIII thought we needed to do is to find that and try to order our individual lives and our lives as a Church, so that the world can live in peace. Leo XIV also picks up on themes like that a lot. His first words on the on the loggia on May 8, 2025, were, "Peace be with you all!" And he keeps coming back to that, time after time, understanding that peace isn't just the absence of conflict. Peace is things being rightly ordered, and "rightly ordered" means a world in which people love each other, including through law and politics.

There are a few big themes, the first being migration. Pope Leo XIII saw emigration, which was actually forbidden by the Church, as an opportunity to build a new idea of the Church and extend its influence on the international scale. He took a really important stand to defend migrants, especially Italian migrants, at the time of the Great Italian Immigration, because he saw them as missionaries who could bring their faith to the United States. Pope Leo XIV carries that same instinct—he sees immigrants not as a plight, but rather as an opportunity to make contact with new worlds.

From the European perspective, the commercial expansion of the U.S. and its westward growth was viewed with some fear during Leo XIII's papacy. Leo XIII again viewed this expansion as an opportunity, and he oversaw the establishment of new dioceses from Kansas westward in the U.S. He praised the development and mission of the American Church while also recognizing the hesitations many had about the new world. Leo XIV also has somewhat of a mixed relationship with the United States. He grew up in the U.S. but primarily lived in Peru, so he observed the U.S. from the outside and has a critical lens of the country. He recognizes both the insider and outsider perspective of the U.S.