VATICAN CITY (AP) 鈥 Pope Leo XIV laid out the vision of his papacy Saturday, identifying artificial intelligence as one of the most critical matters facing humanity and vowing to continue with some of the core priorities of Pope Francis.
(AP Video shot by Helena Alves / May 10, 2025)
But in a sign he was making the papacy very much his own, Leo made his first outing since his election, traveling to a sanctuary south of Rome that is dedicated to the Madonna and is of particular significance to his Augustinian order and his namesake,聽Pope Leo XIII.
Townspeople of Genazzano gathered in the square outside the main church housing the Madre del Buon Consiglio (Mother of Good Counsel) sanctuary as Leo arrived and greeted them. The sanctuary, which is managed by Augustinian friars, has been a place of pilgrimage since the 15th century and the previous Pope聽Leo elevated it to a minor basilica and expanded the adjacent convent in the early 1900s.
Pope Leo made an unscheduled visit to a shrine in Gennazzano, one hour from Rome, on Saturday afternoon. (AP Video / May 10, 2025)
After praying in the church, Leo greeted the townspeople and told them they had both a gift and a responsibility in having the Madonna in their midst. He offered a blessing and then got back into the passenger seat of the car, a black Volkswagen. En route back to the Vatican, he stopped to pray at Francis’ tomb at St. Mary Major Basilica.
Pope Leo XIV prayed at Francis' tomb in St. Mary Major Basilica on Saturday as he made his way back to the Vatican after his first outing since being elected. (AP Video / May 10, 2025)
The after-lunch outing came after Leo presided over his first formal audience, with the cardinals who elected him pope. In it Leo repeatedly cited and the Argentine pope’s own , making clear a commitment to making the Catholic Church more inclusive and attentive to the faithful and a church that looks out for the “least and rejected.鈥
Leo, the first American pope, told the cardinals that he was fully committed to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings that modernized the church. He identified AI as one of the main issues facing humanity, saying it poses challenges to defending human dignity, justice and labor.
Some signs about the future emerge
The Vatican, meanwhile, provided hints of its own about the Leo pontificate: It revealed Saturday that Leo would retain the motto and coat of arms that he had as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru that emphasize unity in the church.
The motto, 鈥淚n Illo uno unum,鈥 was pronounced by St. Augustine in a sermon to explain that 鈥渁lthough we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.鈥 The emblem is that of the Augustinian order: a pierced flaming heart and a book, representing the Scriptures.
The Vatican also provided details about the pectoral cross that Leo is wearing: It was a gift from the Augustinian order when he was made a cardinal in 2023. It contains relics of St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica, who was crucial in his conversion to Christianity.
is one of the theological and devotional giants of early Christianity. The Augustinian order, formed in the 13th century as a community of 鈥渕endicant鈥 friars, is dedicated to poverty, service and evangelization.
Identifying with Pope Francis
Leo referred to AI in explaining the choice of his name: His namesake, , was pope from 1878 to 1903 and laid the foundation for modern Catholic social thought. He did so most famously with his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which addressed workers鈥 rights and capitalism at the dawn of the industrial age. The late pope criticized both laissez-faire capitalism and state-centric socialism, giving shape to a distinctly Catholic vein of economic teaching.
In his remarks Saturday, Leo said he identified with his predecessor.
鈥淚n our own day, the church offers everyone the treasury of its social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor,鈥 he said.
Toward the end of his pontificate, Francis became increasingly vocal about the threats to humanity posed by AI and called for an international treaty to regulate it.
Francis in many ways saw the Chicago-born Augustinian missionary Robert Prevost as something of an heir apparent: He moved him to take over a small Peruvian diocese in 2014, where Prevost later became bishop and head of the Peruvian bishops conference, and then called him to Rome to take over one of the most important Vatican offices vetting bishop nominations in 2023.
In the speech, delivered in Italian in the Vatican鈥檚 synod hall 鈥 not the Apostolic Palace 鈥 Leo made repeated references to Francis and the mourning over He held up Francis鈥 2013 mission statement, 鈥淭he Joy of the Gospel,鈥 as something of his own marching orders.
He cited Francis’ insistence on the missionary nature of the church and the need to make its leadership more collegial. He cited the need to pay attention to what the faithful say 鈥渆specially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, especially popular piety.鈥
Again, referring to Francis’ 2013 mission statement, Leo cited the need for the church to express 鈥渓oving care for the least and rejected鈥 and engage in courageous dialogue with the contemporary world.
A quick conclave
Greeted by a standing ovation, Leo read from his prepared text, only looking up occasionally. Even when he first appeared to the world on Thursday night, Leo read from a prepared, handwritten text in Italian that he must have drafted sometime before his historic election or the hour or so after. He seemed most comfortable speaking off-the-cuff in the few words he pronounced in Spanish.
Prevost was elected the 267th pontiff on Thursday on the fourth ballot of the conclave, an exceptionally fast outcome given this was the largest and most geographically diverse conclave in history and not all cardinals knew one another before arriving in Rome.
Madagascar Cardinal D茅sir茅 Tsarahazana told reporters on Saturday that on the final ballot, Prevost had received 鈥渕ore鈥 than 100 of the 133 votes. That suggests an extraordinary margin, well beyond the two-thirds, or 89 votes, necessary to be elected.
A comment from a contender
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state who had been considered one of the top contenders to be pope, offered his congratulations on Saturday in a letter published in his hometown paper, Il Giornale di Vicenza.
Parolin praised Leo’s grasp of today’s problems, recalling his first words from the loggia when he spoke of the need for a peace that is “disarmed and disarming.” Parolin said he had appreciated Prevost’s leadership in Chiclayo, saying he helped handle a particularly thorny problem 鈥 with no details 鈥 and grew to appreciate his governance more closely at the Vatican handling the bishops’ office.
Specifically, Parolin praised Leo’s understanding of people and situations, his 鈥渃almness in argumentation, balance in proposing solutions, respect, care and love for everyone.鈥
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
