SCHIAVON, Italy (AP) — Pope Leo XIV 's choice of name signals a commitment to social justice that is very much in line with the late Pope Francis ' global ministry.
“I think a lot us had a question mark when they elected an American, and then he selected the name Pope Leo XIV,” said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, the chair of religious studies at Manhattan University. “It really means to me he will continue the work of Leo XIII.”
Pope Leo XIII, who was head of the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903, laid the foundation for modern Catholic social thought, most famously with his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which addressed workers’ rights and capitalism at the dawn of the industrial age. He criticized both laissez-faire capitalism and state-centric socialism, giving shape to a distinctly Catholic vein of economic teaching.
The name “is a deep sign of commitment to social issues," said Imperatori-Lee. “I think this (new) pope is saying something about social justice, by choosing this name, that it is going to be a priority. He is continuing a lot of Francis’ ministry.”
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed that choice of the name Leo was a reference to Leo XIII and the social doctrine of the church, in particular the Rerum Novarum encyclical, considered the Catholic Church's first social encyclical.
Another predecessor, Pope Leo I, was known for repelling the barbarian invasion of Attila the Hun in 452 A.D. and dissuading him from sacking Rome through diplomacy, Italian Cardinal Mauro Piacenza told RAI Italian state TV. He also noted that Pope Leo XIII elevated the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii to a papal basilica in 1901.
Leo could also refer to Brother Leo, the 13th century friar who was a great companion of St. Francis of Assisi. By choosing such a name, the new pope could be signaling also a very strong continuity with Francis, who named himself after the saint.
For most of the Catholic Church’s first millennium, popes used their given names. The first exception was the 6th century Roman Mercurius, who had been named for a pagan god and chose the more appropriate name of John II.
The practice of adopting a new name became ingrained during the 11th century, a period of German popes who chose names of early church bishops out of “a desire to signify continuity,” according to Rev. Roberto Regoli, a historian at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University.
For many centuries, new popes tended to choose the name of the pope who had elevated them to cardinal. John was the most popular, chosen by 23 popes, followed by Benedict and Gregory, each with 16.
It was from the mid-20th century that new popes began to choose names signaling the aim of their papacy, Regoli said.
AP writers Nicole Winfield and Vanessa Gera contributed from Rome.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is traveling to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday for a dignified transfer for the two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert that is testing the rapprochement between Washington and Damascus.
The two guardsmen killed in the attack on Saturday were Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, according to the U.S. Army. Both were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment. A U.S. civilian working as an interpreter was also killed.
The ritual at Dover Air Force Base honors U.S. service members killed in action and is one of the most solemn duties undertaken by the commander in chief.
During the process, transfer cases draped with the American flag holding the remains of fallen soldiers are carried from the military aircraft that carried them to Dover to an awaiting vehicle to transport them to the mortuary facility at the base. There, the fallen service members are prepared for their final resting place.
Trump, a Republican, said during his first term that witnessing the dignified transfer of service members’ remains is “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.
The Iowa National Guard is remembering the two men as heroes. Howard’s stepfather, Jeffrey Bunn, said Howard “loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out,” noting that he had wanted to be a soldier since he was a young boy.
In a post on the Meskwaki Nation Police Department’s Facebook page, Bunn – who is chief of the Tama, Iowa, department – called Howard a loving husband and an “amazing man of faith” and said Howard’s brother, a staff sergeant in the Iowa National Guard, would escort “Nate” back to Iowa.
Torres-Tovar was remembered as a “very positive” person who was family oriented and someone who always put others first, according to fellow guardsmen who were deployed with Torres-Tovar and issued a statement to the local TV broadcast station WOI.
“They were dedicated professionals and cherished members of our Guard family who represented the best of Iowa,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard.
On Saturday, Trump told reporters that he was mourning the deaths and vowed retaliation.
Trump said Monday that he remained confident in the leadership of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the onetime leader of an Islamic insurgent group who led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad, whose family had an iron grip on Syrian rule for decades.
The U.S. president welcomed al-Sharaa to Washington last month for a historic visit to the White House and formally welcomed Syria as a member of the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group. Hundreds of U.S. troops are deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting IS.
“This had nothing to do with him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “This had to do with ISIS.”
Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack. As of Monday, two were in stable condition and the other in good condition. The Pentagon has not identified them.
Trump traveled to Dover several times during his first term to honor the fallen, including for a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, and for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire.
President Donald Trump speaks during a Mexican Border Defense Medal presentation in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
This undated photo released by the Iowa National Guard shows Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar. (Iowa National Guard via AP)
This undated photo released by the Iowa National Guard shows Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard. (Iowa National Guard via AP)
This undated combo photo created with images released by the Iowa National Guard shows Sgts. William Nathaniel Howard, left, and Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar. (Iowa National Guard via AP)
