Before Leo XIV, There Was Leo XIII

News Americas, New York, NY, May 8, 2025: As the Catholic Church welcomes its new leader, Pope Leo XIV – an American and Peruvian pontiff who chose his papal name in honor of Pope Leo XIII – many are asking: who was Pope Leo XIII, and why is his legacy so significant today? Here’s a look at ten key facts about the man known as the “Social Pope.”

Late Pope Leo XIII (Wikipedia image)

1. A Long-Reigning Pontiff

Pope Leo XIII, born Gioacchino Pecci in 1810, served as pope from 1878 to 1903. His 25-year pontificate is the fourth longest in Catholic history, surpassed only by St. Peter, Pope Pius IX, and John Paul, II.

2. Champion of Workers’ Rights

He is best remembered for his groundbreaking 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which laid the foundation for Catholic social teaching. In it, he supported workers’ rights to fair wages, safe conditions, and unions, while also defending property rights and condemning both socialism and unchecked capitalism.

3. A Pope of Intellectual Revival

Leo XIII promoted Thomism – the theological philosophy of Thomas Aquinas – as the cornerstone of Catholic doctrine. His encyclical Aeterni Patris sparked a resurgence of Catholic philosophical and theological scholarship.

4. Promoter of the Rosary

Known as the “Rosary Pope,” he issued eleven encyclicals on the rosary and endorsed Marian devotions, including the scapular. His efforts strengthened spiritual life within the Church during a time of political upheaval.

5. First Modern Diplomatic Pope

Leo XIII was a skilled diplomat who improved the Church’s relations with major world powers, including Russia, Germany, and France. He sought to reconcile the Church with modern states and strengthen its global influence.

6. Builder of Catholic Education

He was instrumental in founding institutions like the Catholic University of America and encouraged Catholic intellectual and scientific inquiry by opening the Vatican Archives and supporting the Vatican Observatory.

7. First Pope of the Modern Age

Leo XIII was the first pope to be recorded on audio and film. Born in 1810, he remains the earliest-born individual ever captured on camera, linking the 19th-century Church to the media age.

8. Advocate for the Marginalized

He extended Catholic outreach globally – supporting missions in Africa, endorsing indigenous seminaries in India, and speaking against slavery in Brazil. He emphasized the dignity of every human being, regardless of geography or class.

9. Influencer of Future Popes

His teachings on social justice, science, and interfaith engagement laid groundwork that inspired later popes like Pius XI, John Paul II, and now Pope Leo XIV, who has similarly emphasized justice, dignity, and compassion.

10. A Legacy That Endures

Upon his death in 1903 at the age of 93, Pope Leo XIII left behind a transformed Church – one more engaged with the modern world and committed to human dignity. Today, his name echoes once again in the papacy of Pope Leo XIV, a nod to a pontiff who bridged the Church’s rich tradition with the challenges of modernity.