As the veil lifts on the secretive proceedings of the papal conclave, a cardinal has offered a rare glimpse into the moment Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said Leo XIV reacted “very matter of factly” when asked if he accepted the papacy.
“There was no real emotion,” Nichols told the Daily Mail. “He took it all in his stride.”
Nichols added that a “real sense of elation” swept through the 133 cardinals secluded in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel Thursday as it became clear that they had found a new Pope.
But Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, stayed composed.
“I was standing just a few feet away as [Leo XIV] spoke, and he was so very calm,” he said.
Nichols said that the new pope’s name choice carries significant meaning, offering insight into how he might engage with world leaders.
“[Leo XIV] won’t be afraid of tyrants,” he said, drawing parallels between the new pontiff and Pope Leo I, who famously confronted Attila the Hun in A.D. 452, persuading him to spare Italy from invasion.
When the Daily Mail asked Nichols if he was alluding to President Donald Trump, he replied, “You might hear that, but I didn’t say it.”
Leo XIV’s social media appears to show he retweeted a slew of posts critical of Trump’s policies and administration, prompting Trump ally Laura Loomer to describe him as “anti-MAGA” and “woke.”
The new Holy Father’s choice of name also evokes Pope Leo XIII, a pivotal figure in the development of the Catholic social justice tradition. Leo XIV is widely seen as part of the church’s more progressive wing, although The New York Times reported that supporters of Leo XIV’s candidacy were pitching him as a more moderate successor to Pope Francis, who often clashed with Trump.
Leo XIV was elected after only four rounds of voting. “It was a very rapid decision,” Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, told the Daily Mail. “I think that’s because Pope Francis left a College of Cardinals that shared his vision and spirit to be a missionary church.”
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