Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV’s devotion to St. Augustine, his life and ministry as a member of the Augustinian order and his focus on the unity of the church are reflected in his episcopal motto and coat of arms.
When he appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica shortly after his election May 8, he introduced himself as “an Augustinian, a son of St. Augustine.”
And he explained that the cardinals who elected him “have chosen me to be the Successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a Church, united, ever pursuing peace and justice, ever seeking to act as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, in order to proclaim the Gospel without fear, to be missionaries.”
His episcopal motto is “In Illo uno unum,” or literally “In the One, we are one.”
Vatican News explained that the phrase is taken from St. Augustine’s “Exposition on Psalm 127,” where he explains that “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.”
As a cardinal, he told Vatican News in 2023, “As can be seen from my episcopal motto, unity and communion are truly part of the charism of the Order of St. Augustine, and also of my way of acting and thinking.”
His shield, now topped by a miter instead of the red galero hat on the shield of cardinals, is divided diagonally into two. The upper half features a blue background with a white lily or fleur-de-lis, symbolizing the Virgin Mary, but also his French heritage.
The lower half of the shield has a light background and displays an image common to the religious orders named after and inspired by St. Augustine: a closed book with a heart pierced by an arrow.
Vatican News said, “This is a direct reference to the conversion experience of St. Augustine himself, who described his personal encounter with God’s word using the phrase: ‘Vulnerasti cor meum verbo tuo’ — ‘You have pierced my heart with your Word.’”
Pope Leo XIV’s name holds powerful meaning
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY — Even before he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and spoke May 8, Pope Leo XIV’s choice of a name was a powerful statement.
Following Pope Francis, who chose a completely new name in church history, Pope Leo XIV opted for a name steeped in tradition that also conveys an openness to engaging with the modern world.
The new pope’s choice of name is a “direct recall of the social doctrine of the church and of the pope that initiated the modern social doctrine of the church,” Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, told reporters after Pope Leo XIV’s election.
Pope Leo XIII, who was pope from 1878-1903, is known for publishing the encyclical “Rerum Novarum” on worker’s rights — considered the foundational document for the church’s social teaching. The document emphasized the dignity of workers and condemned the dangers of unchecked capitalism and socialism.
The name Leo is a “direct” reference to “men and women and their work, also in the time of artificial intelligence,” according to Bruni.
The first pope who took the name Leo became pope in 440.
Known as Leo the Great, he promoted the doctrine of papal primacy based on succession from St. Peter and was a peacemaker who convinced Atilla the Hun to turn back from invading Italy in 452.
