Pope Leo XIV is yet to explain why he chose the name Leo to be his papal name, however traditionally it can be seen as a nod to the previous pope to take that name.
Pope Leo XIII was the Roman Pontiff from 1878 until his death in 1903. His reign was the fourth-longest of any Pope.
Born Gioacchino Pecci, he came from nobility, his father being a count. He began study for the priesthood when he was 18.
He was appointed a personal prelate by Pope Gregory XVI before he was even ordained. On 31 December 1837, Cardinal Vicar Carlo Odescalchi ordained him a priest of the Diocese of Rome. He celebrated his first Mass with his brother Giuseppe who also became a priest with the Jesuits.
He became Apostolic Nuncio at the age of 32 and was ordained a bishop at this same time. He became Bishop of Perugia in 1846 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1853 when he was just 43.
He was elected Pope on 20 February 1878 at the age of 67.
As a pope, he was well known for his intellectualism and attempts to define the Catholic Church as it entered the modern era. In particular, he emphasised the importance of social justice, academic and scientific rigour, diplomacy, and mission.
He sought to revive Thomism, the theological system of Saint Augustine of Hippo and Saint Thomas Aquinas. This is likely an area where both Pope Leo’s will have a lot of common interest given Pope Leo XIV’s Augustinian and academic background.
He also named four individual Doctors of the Church, eager to showcase the strong intellectual history of the Church. They were Cyril of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, John Damascene and Bede the Venerable.
Pope Leo XIII also championed the Eastern Rites of the Church, devoting his encyclical Orientalium dignitas of 1894 to preserving Eastern Rite liturgies. The Second Vatican Council would later affirm this dignity of the Eastern Churches. Three of the individuals he named as Doctors of the Church were typically associated with the Eastern Rites of the Church.
Pope Leo XIII also endeavoured to show the faithful connection between science and the Church, "so that everyone might see clearly that the Church and her Pastors are not opposed to true and solid science, whether human or divine, but that they embrace it, encourage it, and promote it with the fullest possible devotion."
Pope Leo XIII was also a noted diplomat, not only with other nations, but also with representing the Church to the common people. He reached out to people who had become increasingly anticlerical and held socialist sympathies, helping to reconcile with the Church. This appears to be a focus of Pope Leo XIV, who showed incredible diplomacy during his time in Peru amid political turmoil.
Pope Leo XIII’s most famous encyclical was Rerum Novarum, which addressed social inequality and social justice issues, focusing on the rights and duties of capital and labour. He urged an improvement in "the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class."
It also introduced the principle that political and social decisions should be taken at a local level, if possible, rather than by a central authority, into Catholic social thought. Pope Leo XIV has echoed this sentiment, particularly when speaking about Fiducia Supplicans, the implementation of which he said should be left to national bishops’ conferences to interpret “given cultural differences”.
The two Pope Leo’s also share a great love of mission. Pope Leo XIV’s career was dominated by mission, serving the Augustinians in Peru before becoming a bishop in the country. Pope Leo XIII sanctioned missions to Eastern Africa in 1884. He also approved the foundation of the Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo to care for Italian migrants abroad.
As the first Pope from North America, Pope Leo XIV will likely have a great appreciation for the role played by Pope Leo XIII in elevating Catholicism in American society. He founded the Catholic University of America in 1887 and attempted to increase the influence of Catholic schools in the country, newspapers began to allege he was trying to gain control of American public schools.
There will likely be far more clarity in the coming days as to why Pope Leo XIV chose the papal name of Leo, but given the similarities between himself and Pope Leo XIII, it suggests he wishes to emulate key parts of his papacy.