Cardinal: Leo XIV is a unifier, but will surprise us

Just a few days after the visit to Algeria, what is your assessment of his time there?

Cardinal Vesco: What strikes me is that this event had a huge impact on the Algerian people, on all Algerians. I had been hoping for this meeting between a pope and the Algerian people for a long time. Of course, there were no walkabouts in the crowds like in other countries; that wasn't the point at all.

On the other hand, there was considerable media coverage. Everything was broadcast live, including on the national channel. Algerians followed it; in every village, they lived for two days to the rhythm of the visit. I didn't realize to what extent. Even today, I'm constantly contacted by people thanking me. Someone told me, "When I saw him leave after two days, I felt like I was watching a friend leave."

Did this trip mark a new stage of dialogue between the Muslim people and the small Christian community?

Cardinal Vesco: I'd say this trip brought a sense of pride, openness, and gratitude. All the reflections I hear, all the messages I receive, go in the same direction: "He came to visit us." They don't say, "Are you happy?" The whole difference is found between this "you" and "us." It's extraordinarily positive, and I think that in a way, the journey truly begins with the Pope's departure. We've accomplished something together that will be a milestone in the life of the country.

When I asked Cardinal Cristobal López Romero, the Archbishop of Rabat, for his assessment of Pope Francis' visit to Morocco, he told me we shouldn't expect "a revolution, but an evolution." And that's exactly what we have the right to expect.

What do you consider to be the main message Leo XIV left for Algeria?

Cardinal Vesco: I’d mention two particularly powerful moments. The first took place at the Martyrs' Memorial. The Pope didn't just act like any head of state by silently laying a wreath. He spoke directly to the people at this highly symbolic site of independence, and he spoke powerful words, which in my opinion had never been spoken by any foreigner.

He acknowledged the importance of the fight for Algeria's independence, warning that it must lead to peace of heart, which can only happen through difficult forgiveness. He added that we can't keep adding conflicts to conflicts. I think the country needed to hear these words acknowledging its fight for independence and the value of its history.

The second episode was the visit to the Great Mosque of Algiers. We chose not to hold an Islamic-Christian conference, but simply to experience a moment of spiritual hospitality. The Pope and the rector, two men in white, shoulder to shoulder ... from a distance, you couldn't tell who was the Muslim and who was the Christian. This scene spoke for itself. The world needs this; for me, it's the ultimate gesture.

As an anecdote, after walking through the mosque's prayer hall, there was a photo session. I was on the rector's left, and suddenly he grabbed my hand. In front of a whole array of cameras, without it being ostentatious, he held my hand for two minutes. It was impressive.

After the Pope left, I sent a message to the rector to thank him for his welcome and for the gesture he had shown me. He replied with a letter whose header read in Arabic, "to His Eminence Cardinal, Brother Jean-Paul Vesco." These gestures testified to the truth of what was experienced between the Holy Father and the rector.

You spent several days closely alongside the Pope. What stands out to you about his personality and his way of being?

Cardinal Vesco: I felt he was very attentive, very present, in every gesture and every moment. He isn't exuberant, but he’s highly observant. It's striking, and you can also feel it in the way he looks at people, in how he smiles at them. Pope Leo's gaze is very unique. It's both gentle and benevolent.

Some felt that the trip to Africa was a turning point for the pontificate. Do you share this analysis?

Cardinal Vesco: No. I think Robert Prevost isn't a man of turning points. He's a very straightforward person in every sense of the word. I don't see a turning point in the sense of a shift in his actions or gestures.

This trip revealed the Pope he has been since day one. He’s a Pope who is gaining momentum. He's a man who takes big steps, someone who learns quickly. Now he's much more direct, much more responsive in his interactions with crowds. You also sense that he's taking an increasingly firm stance on the issue of peace and justice.

His predecessor, Francis, had made unpredictability an evangelical way of being, which can create dysfunctions — sometimes beneficial ones. I think Leo XIV will be the opposite. He’s very reliable and constant. He says what he does; he does what he says. That's exactly what happened with this trip to Algeria.

When I told him on the day of his election that May 8 was the feast of the Blessed Martyrs of Algeria, and that I hoped he'd be the first pope to visit the country, he replied, "If I'm invited, I'll gladly come." A few days later, I learned that while receiving the diplomatic corps, he had told the Algerian ambassador to the Holy See that he wanted to visit the country. The invitation was ready immediately. That's exactly what Leo XIV is like.

You were one of the cardinals at the conclave who elected him a year ago. How do you view this first year of his pontificate?

Cardinal Vesco: Obviously, this first year has been closely scrutinized. We've seen him become Pope before our eyes. I'm impressed by the way he has put on his "pontifical robes." He possesses a kind of humility, submitting to what is presented to him as the duties of a Pope. But little by little, he's doing it his way. It's a massive undertaking to be in such a position and to already be so well settled into his role.

It isn't betraying a secret to say that the conclave elected a profile that corresponded to the cardinals' implicit desire to see the Church move toward greater unity. Clearly, in who he is and what he does, Leo XIV is a man of unity. But he isn't a man of compromises, rather a man of syntheses.

How do you envision the coming years?

Cardinal Vesco: Deep down, he's a Pope of peace, who is going to move forward in a world that is increasingly complex, increasingly dangerous — one that might explode. And in that world, he represents a grounded Pope, who gives simple answers, but ones rooted in common sense.

Pope Francis, with his battering rams, broke down doors — which without a doubt needed to be broken down. Leo XIV isn't like that. He doesn't rush things. He listens, judges, decides, but respects people. Paradoxically, he's a Pope who is predictable in a way, but who "will surprise us"!

How so?

Cardinal Vesco: In my opinion, he’s a man of great authority, which is all the harder to dispute because he isn't a man of excess. He'll be able to say and do very important things while remaining measured. He'll be able to work toward a unity that will come about through a form of "audacious wisdom."

We can cite, for example, his response to journalists regarding the blessing of same-sex couples. He spoke without guile, bringing together both the welcoming Church and the current doctrinal position on official blessings. He reiterated that regardless of one's living situation or family conditions, everyone has the right to the Lord's blessing. That's exactly the point made by Francis, whose legacy he embraces. And he urged people not to make sexual morality a source of division in the Church.

You'll be meeting Leo XIV again in a few weeks for the June consistory in Rome, which will bring together all the cardinals who elected him, just like last January. What do you expect from this meeting?

Cardinal Vesco: We haven't received any special instructions. With these meetings, Leo XIV is quite simply building a College of Cardinals. He knows, just as we do, that when the conclave arrived, we didn't know each other. Aside from those in the Roman Curia, we were all more or less newcomers.

The great contribution of the first consistory was working in groups and getting to know one another beyond our differences in sensibilities. The Pope will thus have a true College of Cardinals who come from the four corners of the earth and who know each other.