It only took four ballots to elect the first American pope. As proud as we are for that achievement, we should acknowledge that Robert (“Bob”) Prevost also has an all-Latin pedigree.
His maternal side is ‘white’ Hispanic (Martinez) of Louisiana Creole stock, which means a blend of Spanish and French settlers. His paternal side is French and Italian. The surnames Lanti and Rottaro factor in to the Prevost line. In short, the new Pope Leo XIV is a true Latin, someone descended from Italy, France, and Spain.
It wasn’t hard to spot Bob Prevost’s Latin roots. He looks like a relative with a balding pate and pleasing visage. But when he spoke Italian and Spanish, I knew his accent was beyond a typical American’s ability. His service to the Church in Peru and in Italy paid dividends.
It’s clear that popes need to speak Italian just to deal with the Vatican bureaucracy. And as Bishop of Rome you better know the language of your congregation. Pope John Paul II, a Pole, had a hard time learning Italian, and I wonder if the German Pope Benedict XVI was overwhelmed by his Italian staff and financial advisors and impelled to pack it in and retire.
What aspects of a candidate did 134 cardinals consider in choosing the man who is not only the spiritual head of 1.4 billion Catholics but also the monarch of a country, Vatican City. Sure, there’s concern about whether the man is a progressive or conservative, but he has to be someone with secular abilities. How many candidates in the Conclave spoke four languages fluently? I’m sure word got around. “Bob” no doubt schmoozed in all four languages even if it was only about the lunch menu.
a colorized photo but amazing quality for the time.
But it was the bigger picture that caught my eye before Pope Leo stepped into the balcony. The pomp and circumstance of the Swiss Guard and the Carabiniere Band marching in the piazza along with two or three other uniformed formations. Here was the Vatican’s answer to the British monarchy. The only thing missing were cavalry and carriages. Italians love parades and are devoted to preserving old traditions right down to medieval trappings. In fact, Michelangelo designed the colorful uniforms of the Swiss Guards. If you ever watched Italy’s annual Republic Day parade on YouTube it’s a cavalcade of 200 years of military uniforms, not just tanks or artillery pieces. Every marching unit transports you to a different decade or war in Italian history, visually stunning.
The new pope chose his official name wisely. Leo I reigned in AD 452 when Attila the Hun ransacked a prostrate Italy, arriving at the gates of Rome prepared to sack it. The barbarian had already plundered the Po Valley forcing the Romans there to flee to some Adriatic marshes for protection. Those clever Italic people created a city and later a naval empire called Venice from those marshes. Attila was now poised to enter Italy’s capital. Church legend has it that Pope Leo confronted Attila outside the city walls and miraculously talked him out of his predatory mission. But history is more complicated.
Invading Italy had weakened Attila’s army. Disease had broken out and its food supply restricted. At the same time, a Roman army had arrived from the eastern empire. Attila decided to forego Rome and head back across the Alps. He died the following year in the Balkans.
As for Leo I, he later faced Vandal invaders in AD 455, but could not prevent them from sacking Rome. But his pleas did minimize the destruction.
More relevant to the choice of the name Leo was Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903). Known as the ‘Father of Catholic Social Teaching’ he promulgated the Rerum Novarum (“Of New Things”) in 1891. It was a time when Marxism reared its head and socialism/communism was in the air. It called on capitalism to share with the laboring class to better all of society to avoid upheavals.
There always seems to be a barbarian at the gates, whether to plunder or to spread false ideologies. Pope Leo XIV has chosen his mentors. -JLM
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