Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert F. Prevost of the U.S., appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, May 8, 2025.
Dylan Martinez | Reuters
Pope Leo XIV said Saturday that he selected his name in part to commemorate Pope Leo XIII for his commitment to social issues and workers’ rights during the industrial revolution.
Speaking just days after he was elected pontiff, he said that the world now faces new hurdles to workers’ rights — and humanity more broadly — due to the rise of artificial intelligence.
“In 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,” Pope Leo said.
Pope Leo’s remarks, his first meeting with all the cardinals since his election on May 8, provide one of the earliest indications of his vision for leadership and priorities as head of the Catholic Church.
Pope Leo also suggested during his first meeting with cardinals since his election that he would follow the late Pope Francis’ lead on his commitment to social justice.
“It has been clearly seen in the example of so many of my predecessors, and most recently by Pope Francis himself, with his example of complete dedication to service and to sober simplicity of life, his abandonment to God throughout his ministry and his serene trust at the moment of his return to the Father’s house,” he said.
Francis, who was pope for 12 years, often garnered criticism from conservative cardinals who said he was watering down the Church’s doctrine on issues like LGBT Catholics and women’s leadership.
Leo XIII, the partial inspiration for Pope Leo’s name, was elected in 1878. He was a prominent figure in the Catholic Church’s social teaching, particularly surrounding the rights of workers and the working class.
Pope Leo is the first American pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
Reuters contributed to this report.