Leo XIV: Into the final stretch of Pope Francis’s Jubilee

With the appointment of the new Archbishop of New York, there is some reason to think we have seen the last of the Francis era, at least insofar as episcopal nominations are concerned.

Archbishop Ronald Hicks, chosen to succeed Cardinal Timothy Dolan as Archbishop of New York, has a profile that many consider typically Franciscan.

For one thing, Hicks served as auxiliary to Cardinal Blase Cupich in Chicago before being tapped for the Chicago-suffragan see of Joliet, and Cupich is widely held to have been Francis’s eyes and ears in the US.

The appointment, however, is open to multiple interpretations. It’s true that the new Archbishop of New York was Cardinal Cupich ‘s right-hand man in Chicago, but Hicks was also the fellow late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago had appointed to head the archdiocesan seminaries in illo tempore.

Thus, Hicks’ appointment could also be a final and direct indication of how Leo XIV is managing the transition. The procedures for Cardinal Dolan’s succession began as soon as he turned 75, last February, because Francis wanted Dolan replaced before Cupich, even though Cupich is older, having turned 75 a year earlier.

Dolan’s perceived closeness to the Trump administration and to Trump was not entirely insignificant in the decision, either. Dolan, you will recall, was called upon to deliver the prayer at the installation of Trump’s second presidential term.

Leo XIV did not block the nomination process. He did not rush Cupich ‘s transition, as might have been possible, and not so much because he is a friend of Cardinal Cupich. He made it clear, meeting with the Italian bishops, that in general he prefers bishops to remain in office until they reach 75 years of age and that, only for cardinals, a one- or two-year extension could be considered.

Rather, Leo chose the profile with the most central characteristics. A man of Cardinal George, but also a man of Cardinal Cupich. An archbishop, in short, who knows how to put himself at the center, knows how to understand, and above all, who is considered beyond polarization.

Some argue that perhaps, had Pope Francis been alive, the choice would have gone to a more polarizing bishop, as happened with the decision to appoint Cardinal Robert McElroy as Archbishop of Washington, DC.

Maybe, maybe not. We can note, in any case, how Leo neither accelerated nor pumped the brakes on the process. At the same time, he moved in prudent continuity with Pope Francis.

Regarding the appointment of bishops, there were slight adjustments, but no radical changes. Those seeing in these circumstances and decisions a Leo who is essentially a Francis II, however, are missing the forest for the trees. Cardinal Robert Prevost, as prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops, was charged with managing the transition process, and was already working to find non-polarized candidates.

Bishop candidates, in short, who could be part of a much-needed generational shift, and not just in the United States. Now, as Pope Leo XIV, the same man is in a position to effect a generational shift.

Leo XIV is, in fact, a new-generation pope, outside the debate of the Second Vatican Council, more pragmatic in managing the crises of our time, and less susceptible to polarization. And this is probably the type of bishop we expect. Bishops capable of telling the truth and at the same time standing with the least privileged. Bishops for everyone, neither progressive nor conservative.
Bishops who are difficult to label.

This also says a lot about the way Leo XIV intends to govern the Church.

The transition was not immediate, and many note that many of the issues left by Pope Francis are still unresolved. Reference is often made to the more “media-rich” issues, such as the trial of Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, accused of really heinous abuse, or the trial over the management of the Secretariat of State’s funds, for which an appeal is pending.

There is ample good reason for the media attention and scrutiny the high-profile cases and issues garner. Leo XIV, however, finds himself managing a deeper crisis. He has decided, for now, to make some small adjustments to governance and to understand how to truly change the structure.

We know that there will be a consistory on January 7th and 8th, and we know that the cardinals were first summoned directly by the Secretariat of State, and only after the dean of the college of cardinals delivered a formal communication. We know that the three debate sessions will be moderated by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, with the pope, of course, presiding. But we don’t know the topics—there have been leaks of a letter the pope supposedly sent to the cardinals, but there’s little evidence of this—nor do we know whether the consistory can be considered a new form of governance.

This somewhat mysterious convocation, however, reveals another side of Leo XIV’s personality. He is a pope who listens, who rarely expresses his position, yet who wants to involve as many people as possible. Convening a consistory for discussion means putting problems on the table and hoping to find a shared solution. Leo XIV is seeking communion, rather than opposition. He is seeking community, rather than exercising leadership.

In this, he is truly a friar. This is also evident in his very practical decision not to halt the processes initiated by Pope Francis, and to proceed with the appointments as they had begun to be foreseen, or at least as one thinks they were foreseen.

The pontificate of Leo XIV hasn’t truly begun yet.

From the small adjustment that led to the appointment of Archbishop Hicks to New York, however, we can glimpse something of what this pontificate will be. A pontificate not of rupture but of adjustment. Not a pontificate of restoration. A pontificate of renewal, but within tradition.

At last, this pontificate will be a search for balance.