THE WASHINGTON POST: Echoes of past pontiffs but Pope Leo hits new note with first Sunday blessing

As he has done in every major appearance since being named pope, Leo XIV invoked the name of his predecessor before a massive throng of 150,000 during his first Sunday blessing in St Peter’s Square.

Then he did something notably uncharacteristic of Pope Francis.

He sang.

“Hallelujah,” he intoned reverently, in Latin.

The moment spoke to an evolving truth. As much as Leo has echoed Francis since his dramatic debut on the central balcony Thursday, the first American pontiff is also fast emerging as his own man.

Predictions have followed the new pope since his big reveal. That he will be the anti-Donald Trump, an American in the Vatican promoting kindness and dignity for all, in contrast to the American in the White House. That he will be Francis II in all but name, continuing his predecessor’s mission, even in a similar manner.

Some of that might already be proving true. But it’s also not that simple.

In his first Mass as Pope, Leo spoke on Friday of the “cruel power” inside “luxurious palaces” and the sincerity of “ordinary people” — a favourite theme of Francis’s. On Sunday, at Mass in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica, he spoke not of doctrinal fire and brimstone, but of serving the Catholic flock as a “good shepherd”.

Like Francis, he used his public Sunday message to lament the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. (He also hearkened to John Paul II, echoing that pope’s evangelising catchphrase: “Be not afraid.”)

Francis was known for a lively sense of humour, a trait Leo was displaying within hours of his ascent Thursday. When he returned that evening to colleagues and friends at his pre-papal lodgings, the young daughter of a staff member asked him to sign a Bible. “I have to get some practice with my signature,” the former Robert Prevost quipped, gently, to laughter. “I have no use for the old one anymore.”

On Saturday, he paid homage to Francis — the orchestrator of his meteoric ascent and a man with whom he appears largely in theological lockstep — through a poignant visit to his tomb.

But Leo has staked out differences, too. He is already nodding more to the formality embraced by some traditionalists than Francis, an austere Jesuit, ever did. In his freshly minted official photo, Leo wears a richly embroidered stole over a scarlet shoulder cover — unlike Francis, who rejected elaborate vestments and favoured all white. Rather than speak to the masses on Sunday from a corner window as Francis did, Leo — appearing more reserved and awkward than his more emotive predecessor — took centre stage on the loggia, the main balcony, of St Peter’s.

Italian media have reported Leo will follow the tradition of popes and move into the papal apartments in the grand Apostolic Palace, rather than emulate Francis, who chose more humble quarters at a boardinghouse behind a gas station.

A Vatican official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to The Washington Post to discuss plans not yet announced, said Leo is “likely” to move into the papal apartments. On Sunday, the Vatican cryptically announced that the “seals” affixed to the apartments after Francis’s death had been ceremonially removed.

Michael J. Matt, editor of the traditionalist Catholic outlet the Remnant, called it “a good sign”.

“The light in the Pope’s window overlooking the Piazza will come on again,” he wrote on X. “Welcome back, Holiness.”

That doesn’t mean “Da Pope,” as he’s become known in his native Chicago, will always bring the bling. Close-up photos have revealed Leo, like Francis, is rejecting the fancy red slippers of previous pontiffs, and walking in the footsteps of his predecessor, so to speak, by wearing simple black shoes. Both men — Francis, a Jesuit; Leo, an Augustinian — took the vows of poverty of their religious orders.

What is clear is that Leo will not be a carbon copy of Francis.

“I think he’s going to bring some formality to his presentation of himself as pope,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a former editor of the Jesuit magazine titled America. “We saw that in the clothes he wore on the balcony. He had a prepared text when he spoke while Francis was pretty much spontaneous. I think that Leo was smart — he just didn’t try to imitate Francis. But his heart, like Francis, is with the poor.”

Leo’s past comments suggest he, like Francis, might be skeptical of concepts such as gender theory and the ordination of women as deacons. But he has already offered liberal Catholics some reason for cheer.

The papacy he has described suggests alignment with his predecessor.

And at an official gathering of cardinals on Saturday, he reaffirmed the church’s commitment to the 1960s-era Second Vatican Council. The council’s actions, which aimed to modernize the church with Masses celebrated in local languages, more roles for lay people and greater outreach to other denominations and faiths, still rankle some traditionalists.

On the world stage, Leo’s early messaging suggests he’ll stand in contrast to Mr Trump, whose anti-immigrant nationalism Francis openly criticised.

“The job of the pope is to preach the Gospel of Jesus, who constantly told us . . . how we should respond by loving one another, loving our neighbour, especially the poor, the hungry, the thirsty,” Reese said.

“That’s part of the DNA of being pope . . . He’s not looking for a fight with Trump, but he’s not going to tone down the Gospel message just because Trump doesn’t like it.”

In the massive crowd that turned out for Leo’s first Sunday blessing, amid a pre-planned jubilee event involving an elaborate procession of bands from across Italy, Catholics reflected on the loss of one pope and the rise of another.

“I think that he has some things about him that already appear (unique) to his own spirituality,” said Mike Kelsey, 37, visiting from Spokane, Washington, with his wife. “Being Augustinian, you know, kind of focusing on maybe what we think will be some social Catholic teachings.

“But I also think that he knows there’s an inertia from Pope Francis to be continued, and I would hope that’s what the Cardinals saw when they elected him.”

Diego Musella, 56, brought his mother, Amelia Esposito, 79, to Leo’s first blessing as a Mother’s Day present. He said it was too soon to gauge the differences between the two popes, but noted that the Augustinians and Jesuits “are significantly different worlds”.

“Whereas Francis right away meant to portray himself as the pontiff of the people, Leo has stressed the value of the church,” Musella said. He pointed out that Leo has dressed more like John Paul II and Benedict XVI. “It’s a statement on the power and hegemony of the church.”

Leo explained Saturday that he had picked his name to honor of the 19th-century Pope Leo XIII, who “addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution.”

He spoke of promoting social justice at a time of similar upheaval with the rise of technology and artificial intelligence — another point on which he dovetails with Francis.

Leo has also backed Francis’s idea of synodality, the idea of inviting select lay people to serve as voting members of the church’s top decision-making body at Vatican councils.

It’s among the legacies of Francis that were most criticised by traditionalist bishops and cardinals after his death.

“I think the main similarity is their desire to continue the work of the Second Vatican Council and to continue the progress of synodality and also to be a person who is with people on the margins,” the Reverend James Martin, an American Jesuit who ministers to LGBTQ+ Catholics, said Sunday in St Peter’s Square.

“I mean, those are clear connections with Pope Francis,” said Reverend Martin, whose ministry Francis encouraged. “But he’s his own man. He’s not Francis Junior, he is Leo XIV.”