“The Cardinals evoke the Holy Spirit in their deliberation,” when determining who will be the next pope, says Trent Engbers, a University of Southern Indiana political science professor and member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. “The Holy Spirit is active in guiding the discernment of the cardinals in the selection of the pope.”
The Holy Spirit worked quickly this time. Early in the evening of May 8, during the second day of the conclave to replace Pope Francis, a plume of white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, indicating a new pope had been elected. The ascent of Cardinal Robert Prevost — who has chosen the papal name Leo XIV — marks a divergence for the church, which has long steered away from choosing a pope from the U.S. due to its geopolitical influence, Engbers says.
“For at least the last three conclaves, pundits have tended to predict an Italian pope, if for no other reason than that it is the safe bet from a historical standard,” says Engbers, who serves as director of USI’s Master of Public Administration program. His political science and public administration teaching at USI includes a focus on religion. “However, the continued deviation from expectations should be a clear signal that the gravitational center of the Church has shifted.”
Leo is not just the second pope from the Americas — the late Francis, who died April 21, hailed from Argentina — he was raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Like Leo, Bishop Joseph Siegel of the Catholic Diocese of Evansville also grew up in the Chicago suburbs. A decade ago, Siegel met then-Bishop Prevost when the latter was based in Peru. At the time, Siegel was Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, and attending a dinner fundraiser for the Order of Saint Augustine, which Prevost was a member of, serving as Prior General before being elected pope.
“I’m very proud of his Midwest roots,” says Siegel, acknowledging the “groundedness of folks in the Midwest that he will bring with him. I hope it brings about a sense of enthusiasm for the faith, not superficial but something that goes deeper.”
“I anticipate he will have an energizing force on the Church in America,” says Engbers, a Reitz Memorial High School graduate who also once called Chicago home. “… As a former resident of the South Side, I feel great pride in his connection.”
As Leo’s vision begins to take shape, his name might offer some clues into the focus of his papacy. There have been 13 prior popes named Leo, five of whom also are saints. Engbers says that Pope Leo I (also known as Leo the Great) served as a unifying force in the church. Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIII, one of the longest-reigning popes, focused on social justice. Siegel says the choice of the name Leo could harken to both Leo I, who was deeply influenced by Saint Augustine, and Leo XIII. Harkening back to Leo XIII — who led the Church during the industrial revolution — this indicates a focus on balancing workers’ rights with developments in industry and business.
According to Siegel, this papal election “sees us in a similar crossroads … in a similar situation of Leo XIII — a groundbreaking and transitional time.”
“I would also argue that Pope Leo could represent a focus on ecumenicalism and a desire to create greater unity among Christian religions and across religious divides,” Engbers says.
