Meet Robert Prevost, Who is Now Pope Leo

Close confidants describe Prevost as reserved, almost shy. But they uniformly laud his ability to listen. “In meetings he was like a sponge,” says Father Andrew Small, the former Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Protection of Minors under Francis. “He’s a listener and his questions tell you he’s processing what you’re saying. It doesn’t mean you know what he’s thinking, but you know that you’ve been heard.”

Leo XIV arrives on the global stage at a pivotal time, when principled leadership is more vital than ever. He faces ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, along with the politically divisive, but morally urgent, issues of migration, religious freedom, human rights and the climate crisis. He will have to navigate a surge in right-wing nationalism, as well as a potential economic slump that threatens the world’s most vulnerable.

The power of the papacy extends far beyond Catholicism’s 1.4 billion followers. The pope may not have the military or economic power of other leaders, but he has the moral authority that most global leaders lack. “Whatever its weaknesses, the church has always—at least over the past 150 years—given priority to people on the margins. And we need that more than ever in an era of America first and Fortress Europe,” says Richard Lennan, a professor of Theology at Boston College. “We need someone who can speak up for the poor, the marginalized, the displaced on the world stage. Even if people just nod politely and move on, we still need that voice.”