Before and After the Conclave
Archbishop Héctor Agüer
Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina
Buenos Aires, May 12, 2025
Before the Conclave
The pontificate of the Argentine Jesuit Jorge Bergoglio was coming to an end. He had chosen the unusual name of Francis, who had been moved with reforming the Church, to which the Saint of Assisi had not aspired, his work being spiritual, and leading to the reform of life. Pope Francis turned his back on Tradition, which always moves forward by preserving and updating its identity. St. Vincent of Lerins had already enunciated it in the 5th century: “in eodem scilicet dogmate, eodem sensu, eademque sententia.” The Roman Tradition was built on Peter, the Fisherman of Galilee, who arrived in the capital of the Empire to found a Christian community and offer his martyrial witness. Throughout history, the succession of Peter constituted the Pontificate, whose election knew different systems, lights and shadows. With time, the conviction that Peter's Rome never failed in the essentials of the Christian faith became established. Heresies and schisms arose, but they never affected the katholiké, the universal Church, although its size fluctuated in history, until it became what it is today, always missionary, with the capacity to extend itself in the world until the Lord returns.
In the centuries of the Fathers of the Church, the value of Rome was always respected, because of the succession from Peter. This was, above all, the see par excellence, and, as it was later called, the Holy See. The Pope is, above all, the Bishop of Rome; his cathedral is St. John Lateran. A kind of competition with the Empire arose later, although during the middle centuries the Pope and the Emperor were the head of Christendom. From these elements arose the problem of the relations between Church and State, which through the centuries and still today is a debatable question, which nevertheless influences Christians and non-Christians alike. An alternative appeared with the work of Muhammad and his claim to found a new empire, which then asserted itself in Turkey. It is not only a political question, but also a cultural one.
The election of the Successor of Peter knew diverse and vacillating systems. In the eleventh century, a boy of 18, Benedict IX, son of a famous Roman family, was elected to the see and imposed it with his armies; expelled, he returned twice more by force of arms. After other attempts, in the 13th century, Pope Gregory X succeeded in imposing the conclave of cardinals; these were the most important parish priests of Rome. This system ensured the sense of election and extends to the present day. Thus great pontiffs arose, such as those known between Vatican Council I and Vatican II. Some of them have not yet been properly appreciated: St. Pius X being the great exception. A similar evaluation of Pius XII is still awaited.
After the Conclave
In a rather brief conclave, in the fourth scrutiny, American Robert Francis Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV, was elected. Some initial details revealed a change in the situation: the new pope appeared wearing full pontifical regalia, and imparted in Latin the Blessing urbi et orbi (to the city of Rome and to the world), with the plenary indulgence.
The chosen name refers to the long pontificate of Leo XIII, Gioachino Pecci (1878-1903), the author of the famous encyclical Rerum Novarum, the beginning of the modern exposition of the Social Doctrine of the Church. That Pontiff condemned equally socialism and the capitalist imperialism of money. His encyclical Libertas also condemned nineteenth-century liberalism.
The new Pope will live in the Pontifical Palace. As an Augustinian priest, he was for many years a missionary in Peru, and even bishop of Chiclayo. This missionary character brings to mind the essential mission of the Church, which follows the command of Jesus to the Apostles: “go and make disciples of all nations.” Journalistic commentaries have ignored this essential question; they have focused on secular issues of the day. Undoubtedly, the Pontiff will have to address political and social issues, but he has been chosen above all to continue the Tradition that comes from the Apostles, and the difficult task of healing the rift opened by progressivism awaits him. With time, the course of Leo XIV's pontificate will become clearer.
