By Francesca Lungarotti
When newly elected pope Robert Francis Prevost selected Leo XIV as his papal name, he paid homage to several papal giants that claimed the name Leo in Roman Catholic history. Leo is not just a name. It honors the lion, a powerful symbol that appears frequently in the Bible. The lion has long represented the power of God and his unwavering protection of his people. The lion is not merely a strong and invincible animal but more importantly a symbol of faith and power.
The thirteen popes named Leo that preceded Leo XIV included leaders who left marks on world and Christian history and influenced Catholic social traditions and missions that remain driving forces within the Church today.
Many opinion pieces published since the May 8, 2025 election of Pope Leo XIV have suggested his choice in name was a direct tribute to his immediate “Leo” predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, who pontificated from 1878-1903. Known as the “Workers Pontiff”, Leo XIII was the first pope to fully understand the challenges of modernity. With the encyclical Rerum Novarum of 1891, he launched the social doctrine of the modern Church, speaking of workers’ rights, social justice and the fight against exploitation. He was also the first pope to be photographed and filmed. He died at 93, leaving a colossal legacy.
Pope St. Leo I the Great (San Leone I, detto Magno) (pope from 440 to 461), miniature from Saint Basil’s Calendar. Image: Photo12/Universal Images Group 
Saint Leo II (611-683). Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Engraving. Image: PHAS/Universal Images Group 
Leo III (750-816). Italian Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Colored engraving. 19th century. Image: PHAS/Universal Images Group 
Leo X (1475-1521). Florentine Pope (1513-21), named Giovanni de ‘Medici. Son of Lorenzo de ‘Medici, the Magnificent. Engraving. Image: PHAS/Universal Images Group 
Leo XII. A nineteenth century pope (1823-1829). His time as Pope made him unpopular and there were several uprisings against his policies. Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group
Leo I (440–461) the Great, the lion among the popes, was the first to bear this name and the only one to earn the title of Magnus (“the great”) which was associated solely with him and Pope Gregory I. He is also remembered as Saint Leo I and his greatest feat was to have stopped Attila at the gates of Rome in 452, armed only with his word and his courage.
Leo III (795–816) is known for crowning Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire on Christmas night in 800. Saint Leo III marked the imperial rebirth of Christian Europe, mending religious and temporal power, in an alliance that would influence the entire Middle Ages.
Leo X (1513–1521) sparked the Reformation. Known as the “Medici Pope” he was the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent and an important symbol of the Renaissance in Rome. Leo X was a patron of the arts and a lover of pomp, but also the pope who in 1520 excommunicated Martin Luther, triggering the Protestant Reformation.
Portrait of Pope Leo XII. Image: Penta Springs/Sepia Times/Universal Images Group 
Portrait of Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903) who had the third longest confirmed pontificate. Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group 
Leo XI (born June 2, 1535 in Florence, died April 27, 1605 in Rome), born Alessandro Ottaviano de’ Medici, was Pope of the Catholic Church from April 1 to April 27, 1605. Image: Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group 
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost arrives on the main central loggia balcony of the St Peter’s Basilica for the first time, after the cardinals ended the conclave, in The Vatican, on May 8, 2025. Image: Antoine Mekary/Godong/Universal Images Group 
Pope Leo IX, 1002 – 1054, born Bruno of Egisheim-Dagsburg. Pope, Alsacian aristocrat and a powerful ruler of central Italy. Image: DesignPics Editorial/Universal Images Group
The other Leo’s were less consequential but included reformers Leo II (682-683) and Leo IX (1049-1054) as well as the infamous Pope Leo VIII, whose legitimacy remains controversial. He was appointed with the support of Emperor Otto I, but some consider him an antipope because he was elected while John XII was still alive in the papacy. An ambiguous figure, Leo VIII was a mirror of the tensions between Rome and the Empire.
Pope Leo XIV is already noteworthy as the first United States-born pope and his ascendency comes during a time of a great division in his home country and wars in Gaza and the Ukraine. The 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide hope the new “Lion” can preside over another consequential papacy, influencing world peace and human dignity.
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Sources
La Voce Newspaper; May 8, 2025