Pope Leos Past and Present

For the fourteenth time, the name Leo has been chosen by a pope. What inspired that selection? Explanations point to St. Mark and St. Augustine. A look at three past Pope Leos reveals the adversities they faced and their political dilemmas. One stood up to Attila the Hun, another avoided being poisoned, and one focused on worker’s rights.

The First Leo

Pope Leo I, called Leo the Great, was a transitional figure between the early Christian era and the Middle Ages. He is remembered as a pivotal figure who shaped the early Christian church. Fifth century Rome was a shadow of its former self. No longer the capital of the Roman Empire, it was the center of a growing Christian religion. The empire had splintered into Eastern and Western territories, each with its own ruler. Ravenna, on the eastern Adriatic, was the capital of the Western Roman Empire. Constantinople, now Istanbul, was the seat of the Eastern Roman Empire. Christianity became the official religion over one hundred years prior to Leo’s election as pope in 440.

Attributed to Márk Kálti, Pope Leo I Meeting Attila the Hun, Fourteenth Century, Manuscript Chronicon Pictum, National Széchényi Library, Budapest, Hungary. Wikimedia commons, public domain.

Leo’s greatness stemmed from his defense of Rome from invaders and his quality (and quantity) of sermons. He reinforced the premise that the bishop of Rome (i.e. the pope) is the true and only successor of St. Peter, Jesus’ apostle. Leo was adamant that the pope was Peter’s heir, with supreme authority over the church. Some bishops in the Eastern church refuted Leo’s teaching, but Leo persisted.

We have 96 extant sermons and 143 letters surviving from his pontificate (440-461). The fact that they were kept for over 1500 years speaks to his importance in church history. Leo’s gifts included the ability to preach and pass on his theological concepts to the people of Rome and beyond. Establishing Rome as the center of the church was no easy task in the fifth century. Ravenna and Constantinople were much safer and wiser choices.

In 410 Italy and Rome had been sacked and pillaged by the Visigoths, a Germanic group. It had been about 100 years since an emperor ruled from Rome, and with the weakening of the empire, the city was prone to repeated invasion from the north. In 452 Attila the Hun set his sights on Italy and Rome. Attila had already sacked Northern Italy and was much feared. Leo the Great, along with other emissaries, took part in a diplomatic mission to persuade him not to attack Rome. They met near Mantua in northern Italy and Attila relented. Leo took the credit, but by then Attila had already achieved riches and military glory. A few years later Geiseric, leader of the Vandals, reached Rome. Again, Leo pleaded with him to spare the city, with less success. They pillaged and ransacked the city, but exacted less damage than anticipated.

Leo X

There are only two popes who are known as “great.” Leo I was courageous, resolute, and a doer. Leo X was hedonistic. By the sixteenth century the papacy was corrupt and full of self-aggrandizement.

Leo X was born Giovanni de’ Medici. He lacked for nothing as a youth in Florence, and received a first-class education. He grew up with the privilege and entitlement expected as the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Now pope at the young age of 37 in 1513, he reportedly said “Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it.” He did not disappoint. As a cultured, refined Medici his tastes ran to costly fine art. He had an enormous entourage, including over 600 servants, and a keeper for his elephant.

Raphael, Portrait of Pope Leo X and his cousins, Cardinals Giulio de’ Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi, 1518, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Pope Leo X was broad-shouldered and obese, although some said he was more bloated than fat. Leo was not a handsome man. His large head sat on a stout neck and overall, he seemed out of balance with a large frame supported by short legs. Good-natured and even tempered, Leo was pleasant and charming. Observers remarked his good manners and gentle voice compensated for his physical appearance. Leo could be ruthless, using his power for illicit affairs, albeit norm for popes at this time. He was particularly fond of young men in his entourage.

In political matters he was deliberative but action oriented. He did not waver, except for one notable time. Like Leo I, Leo X had a multitude of political problems with neighboring countries. France and England were enemies, the Republic of Venice was hostile to the Habsburg Empire, and he frequently encouraged peace and resolution of differences. Unlike his immediate predecessor Julius II, he was not a war-monger. Rather than donning armor, he preferred lavish banquets and acting as patron to Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci. The papal coffers, once refurbished after Julius’ papacy, were drained after only two years of Leo’s luxuries.

Raphael was a favorite of Leo X, as he continued to fresco his private apartments. He painted a large fresco of Leo the Great encountering Attila the Hun. He gave Leo I the features of Leo X to equate his papacy with a revered pope. Leo X leveraged Leo I’s bravery for political purposes. Leo rides on horseback to meet the aggressor, who instantly recoils in horror. Saints Peter and Paul hover above the pope’s entourage. The message is clear: the power of the pope and the church will cause even the fiercest warrior to flee.

Raphael, Pope Leo the Great Meets Attila the Hun, 1513, Room of Heliodorus,

Vatican Museums, Rome. Photo Gerriann Brower.

Even performative art could not save the church from an issue Leo X avoided far too long. In 1517 Martin Luther published his infamous Ninety-Five Theses. Luther excoriated the pope and the organized Roman Catholic religion, particularly the practice of granting indulgences. For a few years Pope Leo X ignored the whole matter thinking surely, Luther would fall in line. Or die. He did not. In 1521 Leo excommunicated him in a papal bull. Luther burnt the bull, and the rest, as they say, is history, marking the beginning of a tumultuous rebellion against the sins of the papacy.

All popes have had schemers and enemies, but few had cardinals who plotted to poison the Vicar of Christ via medical treatment. Leo X suffered from an anal fistula, a painful and embarrassing abscess that required frequent treatment. Two young cardinals were involved in engaging the services of a doctor who plotted to eliminate the pope by applying a poisonous ointment to the papal problem area. One cardinal held a grudge against Leo for a past misdeed against his brother. Two older cardinals were also implicated.

Leo X did not succumb and was tipped off to the plan. Members of the cardinal’s household and the doctor were tortured, confessed, and subjected to hideous deaths. The other cardinals were exiled and lost property consisting of three very prime palaces in Rome, which Leo X gladly retained. Rumors circulated Leo trumped up the charges in order to obtain the properties.

Leo X died a few years later, at age 46. He suffered from raging high fevers and shivering chills, most likely from malaria. He had as many supporters as enemies. The Vatican Palace was looted after his death, and the Romans cursed him and his extravagant lifestyle.

Leo XIII

Popes were the bishop of Rome, head of the church, mayor of Rome, and also head of the Papal States. The Papal States was similar to a duchy. Its territory covered much of central Italy, roughly from south of Tuscany to south of Rome, and across to the Adriatic. Although there were fluid boundaries over the centuries, the Papal States cut Italy in half, separating north from south. Controlling the territory was always problematic for popes, and they were not one to give up any land. This came to a head during the turbulent years of Italy’s unification in the mid to late nineteenth century.

Pope Pius IX resisted unification. Italians desperately wanted foreign troops out of Italy – the Austrians in the north and the French protecting papal interests in Central Italy. Italy had five political regional entities in 1860, and in order to unify the country under one government, the pope would need to cede the Papal States. Pius IX refused. In 1870 Italian national troops ousted the foreign armies and took final control of the papal states and Rome. Pius IX forbade Italian Catholics from participating in elections or the new national government. He died in 1878, unpopular and resented by Italians. An unruly mob attempted to throw his body into the Tiber River during a burial procession.

This was the Italy Gioacchino Pecci from Perugia inherited when elected pope at age 68. He chose the name Leo XIII. Conflicts and separation between religion and government were heightened. Anti-Catholic feelings were especially prevalent in France and Northern Europe. He proved to be a modern pope and earned respect from many leaders. Traditional in many ways, he still required visitors to kneel in front of him during their appointment and forbad voting in the new government. However, he embraced the problems of the modern world in new ways.

Pope Leo XIII, half-length portrait, seated, facing front. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

Leo’s papacy was long – over 25 years. He promoted the study of science and established hundreds of dioceses in Africa, India, Japan, and the United States. Against advice from many cardinals, he opened the Vatican archives to qualified scholars in 1881. Previously, they were private and were off limits to anyone outside the curia. The archives held papal correspondence, financial records, and state records from the Middle Ages on. Leo XIII was media savvy for his day. Photogenic, always with a compassionate smile, he was an avid reader of newspapers and informed on current events. He aimed to understand the greater world and its challenges, especially the industrial revolution.

He is best known for his encyclical (a letter to bishops and the faithful), Rerum Novarum. Known as “On Capital and Labor,” he expressed concern for the welfare of workers. Forward thinking for 1891, he advocated for worker’s rights: fair wages and the right to unionize. He did more than call out the wealth held by few individuals and the poverty of so many. Arguing that the common good should supersede the greed of industrialists, he proposed workers “should be specially cared for and protected by the government.”* He acknowledged the misery of workers in deplorable conditions while industrialists gained riches. He urged workers and capitalists to peacefully reach mutually beneficial working conditions. With his encyclical Leo XIII established Catholic social teaching.

Leo and the Lion

Leo XIII’s focus on social issues influenced the current pope’s name. However, why have there been so many pope Leos? The connections are lions, St. Mark, and St. Augustine.

In Latin leo means lion; in Italian leone. Perhaps popes chose the name Leo as a symbol of strength, loyalty, and fortitude. The lion is the attribute of the apostle St. Mark, who wrote the first gospel. Mark is often depicted with a winged lion. Lions also appear in Revelations and Ezekiel’s vision, signifying the kings of Judah. These symbolic references would have been familiar to Pope Leo I.

There is another connection between the emblematic lion, the Augustinian Order, and Pope Leo XIV. St. Mark is associated with St. Augustine, the founder of the Augustinian Order. Leo XIV is the first Augustinian pope. Augustine lived in the fourth century and would have been known to Leo I. Augustine established the first monastic community and spent most of his life in North Africa. The Augustinian Order was officially organized in 1244 and are known for missionary work, teaching, and communal service. Leo XIV spent two decades in Peru, where the order has had a presence since 1551. His selection of Leo as his pontifical name is both bold and traditional.

Sources

Moore, John A. “Social Justice: Intersecting Catholicism, Citizenship, and Capitalism.” The Independent Review, vol. 24, no. 1, 2019, pp. 119–30.

O’Malley, John W., S. J. A History of the Popes. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011.

Pastor, Ludwig, Freiherr von, The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages, Volume VII. London, 1899.

Pope Leo XIII, The Encyclical Letter “On Capital and Labor” (Rerum Novarum), May 15 1891, The Holy See.

Tussing, Nicholas J. “The Politics of Leo XIII’s Opening of the Vatican Archives: The Ownership of the Past.” The American Archivist, vol. 70, no. 2, 2007, pp. 364–86.