Cardinal - Pope thought about calling himself Augustine and not Leo
“Initially he had thought about the possibility of calling himself Augustine, but, in the end, he thought Leo would be better”. Cardinal Fernando Filoni, who was also present at the Conclave, said this in an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano. The reason for this thought is easy to say and is linked to Prevost’s vocation.
In the solemnity of the moment, when the world heard the name of the new Pontiff, “Leo XIV”, few could have imagined that the newly elected Robert Francis Prevost had also pondered another possibility: that of calling himself “Augustine”. It is not a secondary detail or a curiosity from Vatican behind the scenes, but an intimate and profound reflection of the spiritual and identity journey of the one who today leads the universal Church.
Why Pope Prevost wanted to be called "Augustine"
This was revealed by Cardinal Fernando Filoni, one of the cardinals present at the Conclave, in an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano. "Initially, Prevost had also considered the possibility of calling himself Augustine, but, in the end, he thought Leo would be better," the cardinal said. A phrase that, despite its simplicity, reveals a moment full of meaning: the one in which the new Pope chooses the name by which he will be remembered in history.
Behind that possibility, caressed - and then put aside - lies the entire spiritual formation of the new Pontiff. Pope Leo XIV, in fact, is an Augustinian. He belongs to the Order of Saint Augustine, one of the oldest and most cultured religious orders of the Catholic Church, custodian of the thought of the great Doctor of the Church, whose influence has spanned the centuries, from theology to philosophy, to the vision of the Christian community as a “city of God”.
Choosing the name “Augustine” would have meant for him paying homage not only to the patron saint of his order, but also to the very heart of his religious formation. A sign of continuity with the Augustinian reflection on grace, on the search for truth, on interiority as a path to encountering God. It would not have been just any name, but a pontifical program, an explicit reference to the deepest spiritual dimension of Western Christianity.
He then chose the name Leo XIV
But then Prevost – now Leo XIV – opted for another path. The reason? He probably wanted to pay homage to one of the most emblematic Popes of modernity: Leo XIII, author of the historic encyclical Rerum Novarum, a great social reformer and a bridge figure between the Church and the contemporary world. A Pope who was able to combine doctrinal firmness and pastoral openness, the defense of Christian values and attention to the problems of work, poverty, justice, so much so that he is remembered today as the 'Social Pope'.
It cannot be ruled out that the choice of the name "Leo" was also a reference to the tradition of the great Popes who bore this name, such as Leo I, called the Great, capable of facing Attila with the sole strength of words and moral authority. A symbolic reference to the firm leadership, spiritual courage, and prophetic strength of those called to support the Church in difficult times.
Cardinal Filoni added:
“Personally, I am very satisfied, but I think I can say that everyone I met, among the brother cardinals, expressed great satisfaction and joy, which were also strengthened by the human sympathy and cordiality that Pope Leo immediately expressed. Therefore, it is a choice that has truly left us happy.”
The name chosen – Leo – is therefore loaded with multiple meanings: strength, continuity, guidance, but also a tribute to those who before him were able to face the challenges of the modern world with courage and vision. But Augustine remains the deep spiritual root that inspires a Pope of prayer and interiority, linked to his Augustinian vocation.
“Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours.”
― Confessions
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