Why Leo XIV is still a bit like Robert Francis Prevost

The change has been radical for his family, friends, and acquaintances. In public, his brothers often have to correct themselves so they don't call him “Bob” or “Rob,” but rather “the Pope.” The Holy Father himself spoke of this transformation in his interview book with Vatican journalist Elise Ann Allen: “It’s quite frankly not an easy thing to give up everything that you were and had in the past and take on a role that’s 24 hours a day, basically, and so public” (Pope Leo XIV: The Biography, p. 287).

It shows that Leo XIV is well aware of the rupture between his private identity as Robert Francis Prevost — now known and scrutinized by everyone — and his public identity as the sovereign pontiff, who is “asked to confirm his brothers in the faith.” But time has shown that the Chicago native still has the opportunity to remain the person he was, outside the very public activity of the papacy.

This distinction isn't surprising in itself. It can be found in the famous dichotomy of the “king's two bodies,” a concept presented in 1957 by German historian Ernst Kantorowicz regarding medieval sovereigns. This explains why the popes up until Pope John Paul I systematically used the first-person plural (“we”) as a sign that the papal mission is superior to the person carrying it out. However, just like John Paul I, who asked the faithful to pray for the “poor pope,” Leo XIV sometimes speaks of himself in the third person when addressing the crowds.

With Leo XIV, this relationship between the public and private spheres was uniquely evident from his very first speech. “With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop,” he said from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, quoting a sermon by St. Augustine.

This phrasing suggests complementarity rather than opposition between these two personas. He places himself at the service of his fellow Christians as a simple baptized person among the baptized. Therefore, Leo XIV is a “role” that cannot completely erase Robert Francis Prevost.

During his flight to Madrid last June, a journalist asked the Pope about his preference between the Spanish soccer league's two biggest teams: Barça and Real Madrid. “The pope is for all the teams, but Prevost is for Real Madrid,” the pontiff replied, to everyone's amusement. The Holy Father's preference for “The Whites” (Real Madrid's nickname) was already known, as he had confessed it in his book with Allen. However, the dissociation between the pope's two personas, which seems to set a distance from his previous identity, was perhaps an insight into a deeper truth, even if in this case it was mostly joking.

“Leo XIV knows that there’s a hierarchy. He is first and foremost the pastor of the universal Church, but he accepts and assumes having multiple identities,” a member of the Roman Curia noted. This source pointed out that the Pope has had to adopt new identities several times throughout his life. He did so first as a religious, taking on a new rule of life and gaining new brothers when he entered the Order of St. Augustine. Later on, he embraced new roles as a priest, and as a missionary in Peru. Then as leader of his order. And there was his role as bishop. The American-born pontiff willingly obtained Peruvian citizenship (a legal requirement in Peru for someone to be bishop of a Peruvian diocese), making him the first dual-citizen pope.

His predecessors didn't completely break with their private identities either. Pope Francis maintained his with great discretion; he was still called “Jorge” by a few confidants who visited his apartment in the Casa Santa Marta in the afternoons. In his 12-year pontificate, Francis never returned to his homeland of Argentina. He only allowed himself one personal trip during a brief 2022 visit to his cousin in Asti, located in the Piedmont region of Italy where his father was from. This distance from his native land was an expression of what the Jesuit pope called the “martyrdom of religious life,” which is the total sacrifice of oneself for the mission.

Before him, the name Joseph Ratzinger sometimes appeared on certain theological works by the German pope. This was a way for Pope Benedict XVI to distinguish the intellectual from the pope, separating his personal works from the texts of his magisterium. (He actually never cited the theologian Ratzinger in his magisterial texts). His afternoons were often arranged to give him time to read, reflect, and write in his personal library.

The sacrificial dimension of the pontificate is perhaps less pronounced in Leo XIV than in Francis, and the intellectual dimension is less central than in Benedict XVI. However, he has also carved out personal time where he doesn't have to constantly play a “role.”

This is one of the key reasons he chose to return to Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence south of Rome that his predecessor had abandoned. He goes there every Tuesday to take a real breather during the week. He also spends long periods there for vacations, which allows him to enjoy time with his family and friends.