What's in a name? The history of the papal name Leo

CNN

08-05-2025

Leo is now tied for the fourth most common name chosen by popes, along with Clement. Only John, Gregory and Benedict have proven more popular.
But we haven't had a Pope Leo in more than a century.
The last Pope Leo was Leo XIII, who was born in French-occupied Rome in 1810. He served as pope from 1878 until his death in 1903, making his 25-year papacy the fourth longest in the church's history.
Leo XIII is remembered as a pope of Catholic social teaching. He wrote a famous open letter to all Catholics in 1891, called 'Rerum Novarum' ('Of Revolutionary Change'). The pamphlet reflected on the destruction wrought by the Industrial Revolution on the lives of workers.
In a press briefing Thursday after the conclave, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the choice of name 'is a clear reference to the modern social doctrine of the Church, which began with Rerum Novarum.'
Bruni said the name Leo was a deliberate reference to 'men, women, their work, and workers in an age of artificial intelligence,' seeming to link the pace of technological change of the current era to that of the nineteenth century.
The first Pope Leo, who served in the fifth century, is known as 'Leo the Great,' and is remembered for persuading Attila the Hun to halt his invasion and spare the Roman Empire from destruction.
Their meeting was rendered in a 1514 painting by Raphael. The Renaissance work is now displayed in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, which the 133 voting cardinals – including Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Leo XIV – passed through as they proceeded into the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday for the start of the conclave.
In the painting, an unarmed Pope Leo – watched over by St. Peter and St. Paul – calmly confronts Attila and his army. Their meeting is celebrated by Catholics for showing that peaceful agreements can be reached without violence.
Leo XIV used his first words as pope to call for peace.
'Peace be with you,' he called out from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. 'This was the first greeting of the risen Christ,' he said.
The name Leo derives from the Latin for 'lion,' suggesting strength and courage.
In his address from the balcony, Leo XIV said the church can still hear 'the weak but always courageous voice of Pope Francis,' his predecessor.
CNN's Sharon Braithwaite contributed reporting.