Why did the Pope pick Leo? Here's why the name is so important in the Catholic Church
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost chose a name steeped in hundreds of years of religious tradition after his election as pope: Pope Leo XIV. Photograph By Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Press /Alamy
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost made history by becoming the first Roman Catholic pope from North America. Once elected, however, he chose a pontifical name steeped in hundreds of years of religious tradition: Pope Leo XIV.
As the number indicates, Prevost is the 14th pope with the name Leo. Pope Leo XIV will likely discuss his pontifical name in the coming days, but its significance is clear when looking at the pontificates of his predecessors. From Pope Leo I and his purported exchange with Attila the Hun to Pope Leo IX's role in the Great Schism of A.D. 1054, the pontifical name holds great importance within the Roman Catholic Church. Who was the first Pope Leo?
The name Leo means "lion" in Latin and carries with it a sense of regality, dignity, and leadership. Pope Leo I, the first of three popes in all of history who earned the title "the Great," embodies all of these characteristics within Roman Catholicism.
(The first U.S. pope? Rome reacts to a once impossible scenario.)
Leo I became pope on September 29, A.D. 440, a formative time for the Church. As Catholicism spread and hammered out doctrine, new ideas and questions about details were quick to develop—leading to the rise of heretical groups. Pope Leo I immediately sought to eliminate these heretics and communicated with bishops across the Roman Empire to emphasize unity. He also oversaw the ecumenical council at Chalcedon in A.D. 451, which is where the Roman Catholic Church affirmed the dual nature of Christ as divine and human.
Alongside his role in solidifying church doctrine, legend has it that Pope Leo I came face to face with Attila the Hun in A.D. 452—and won. Attila had crossed into Italy with his coalition of Goths, Huns, and others seeking to conquer and pillage Europe. But medieval texts suggest that he spared Rome after Leo appealed to him directly. Bulgaria's cultural capital
Pope Leo I also has the rare distinction of being named a Doctor of the Church after his death in A.D. 461. This designation is reserved for saints whose writings hold special authority within the Church . As recently as 2008, Pope Benedict XVI discussed Leo the Great , explaining "As the nickname soon attributed to him by tradition suggests, he was truly one of the greatest Pontiffs to have honoured the Roman See and made a very important contribution to strengthening its authority and prestige." Leo III and the first Holy Roman Emperor
Pope Leo III was another pontiff who led during a formative time in Roman Catholicism. Elected in A.D. 795, Pope Leo III was the pope who crowned Charlemagne as the first Holy Roman emperor.
'Many historians credit Charlemagne with spreading Christianity across these formerly pagan regions, bringing a common culture and homogeneity to disparate tribes,' according to National Geographic's Inside the Medieval World . The ruler became defender of the Christian faith and, under him, the continent flourished.
Pope Leo III's decision to name the emperor as leader of the Church reaffirmed the relationship between the papacy and the Frankish rulers who would protect the Catholic Church against threats to its land and rights. It also set the stage for actions taken by Pope Leo IX centuries later—when issues of authority and doctrine split Christendom in two. Pope Leo IX and the Great Schism
Born Bruno of Egisheim, Pope Leo IX became the leader of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States, the territory in and around Rome, in A.D. 1049.
At the time, the relationship between Rome and Constantinople was strained. After Emperor Constantine had shifted the authority of the Roman Empire east to Constantinople in A.D. 330, the city increased in power and prominence over the centuries that followed—ultimately becoming the "New Rome." The Patriarch of Constantinople considered himself equal to the bishop of Rome and, as a result, there was tension over where primacy in Catholicism was truly based.
Catholics on both ends of the Mediterranean had adopted disparate practices (the use of unleavened or leavened bread , for example) and several doctrinal details between the two traditions remained unresolved. Cultural differences further exacerbated the conflict, especially language as the west remained devoted to Latin Mass and the east adopted Greek.
Things came to a head after Constantinople closed all its Latin churches. In response, Pope Leo IX sent a delegation led by Hubert of Silva Candida to Constantinople ostensibly to settle the disagreement with Patriarch Michael Cerularius. Instead, Hubert placed an excommunication bull for the patriarch in the city on the altar at Hagia Sophia on July 16, 1054 A.D.
Pope Leo IX had died by the time of the excommunication, but it was nonetheless a move that he had initiated. As a result, the Roman Catholic Church based in Rome and the Eastern Orthodox Church centered in Constantinople became two separate entities after this Great Schism. Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther
Another Pope Leo—Pope Leo X—also faced a divisive moment within Christendom. Pope Leo X (born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici) held the papal see from 1475 to 1521 A.D. During the last year of his pontificate, Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther.
Luther, a German theologian and former Augustinian friar, had become a vocal critic of the Catholic Church. In A.D. 1519, he famously articulated accusations of corruption against the Church and asserted that salvation came through faith rather than good works and indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses . By A.D. 1521, Luther's refusal to attend the Diet of Worms, where he would be expected to recant his claims, led to Pope Leo X issuing a bull of excommunication for Luther and his followers .
Martin Luther was one of the key figures in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century in which western Christianity was split in two—with the Roman Catholic Church in one camp and Protestant faiths like Lutheranism in the other.
Collectively, these popes are among the most influential men to hold the pontifical seat. They advocated for unity and devotion alike.
This held true for Pope Leo XIII, who held the Holy See from 1878 to 1903. An intellectual who acknowledged the need for science, modern ideas, and open mindedness, Pope Leo XIV was very much a theologian too. As the Pope Leo XIII Institute put it , he saw "deeply into the reality of the world, always acutely aware of the invisible yet very real battle being waged against the soul of each person and against communities everywhere."
This spirit was captured by Pope Leo XIV in his initial remarks to the world. His statement about working together to build bridges, communicate, and be "open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, and love" echoes Pope Leo XIII with a sense of hope for the future.
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