Leo XIV joins line of Pope Leos who include champion of workers, protector of Vatican

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, an Augustinian, is a Mathematics degree holder who answered the call of God, became a priest and was recently elected pope.

The new pope, who has taken on the name Pope Leo XIV, may have found inspiration from the other Pope Leos, including Leo the Great, who faced Attila the Hun, and Leo XIII, who issued an encyclical on the dignity of work.

According to Maki Pulido's report on "24 Oras," Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955 and was ordained a priest in 1982.

The new pope, 69, holds a Master of Divinity and Doctorate of Canon Law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

He was born in the United States but became a naturalized Peruvian citizen because of his work in an Augustinian seminary in Peru for more than 10 years.

In 1999, he was chosen as prior general of the Order of St. Augustine (OSA).

The new pope has chosen the name Leo XIV, which means he is connecting his papacy to Pope Leo XIII said Jesuit priest Albert Alejo.

Pope Leo XIII was the first to write an encyclical, a papal letter sent to all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, entitled Rerum Novarum.

The papal letter, Alejo explained, served as a seed of Catholic social teachings.

The new pope may also have gotten inspiration from the first Pope Leo also known as Leo the Great, the pontiff who personally who faced Atilla the Hun.

The invader was already planning to invade Italy, including Vatican City but was convinced by Leo I not to go on with his plan.

The courage of Leo the first may be likened to a protective father, said Fr. Joseph Zaldivar, San Carlos Seminary professor.

"I can just imagine Pope Leo XIV would take after this. Justice in the world. Special love and care for the victims of injustice. Protective love, like a father for victims of injustice and terrorism, and war," he said. — BAP, GMA Integrated News