Pope Leon XIV explained why he chose this name, presented his blazon and announced his motto. What he sent to his cardinals

Pope Leon XIV reported that Pope Francis will continue and reforms, telling Catholic cardinal around the world that the deceased Pontiff has left a “precious inheritance” to continue, reports News.ro. In an audience with closed doors held with his cardinals on Saturday morning, the new Roman Pontiff explained the choice of his name and set a roadmap for his pontificate.

Unlike the entrance to the pontificate in 2013, when this first meeting of the pope chosen with his cardinals was broadcast live, Leon XIV preferred to meet behind closed doors, writes Le Figaro. More than three hours after the beginning of this meeting, the Vatican published the part-improvised part of the pope in which, besides the program of his pontificate, he explains one of the reasons why he chose the name of Leon XIV.

“Mainly because Pope Leon XIII, through the historical encyclical Rerum Novarum, has addressed the social issue in the context of the first great industrial revolution; and today the Church offers all its inheritance of social doctrine to respond to another industrial revolution and developments in the field of artificial intelligence, which raises new challenges for the defense of human dignity,” he explained.

Pope Leon XIII (1878-1903) was known as a supporter of social justice and advocated for the fair salary and treatment during the industrial revolution. The church must now take over the leadership in confrontation with new threats to workers, such as artificial intelligence, explained the new Pope Leon.

The blazon and motto of Pope Leon XIV

The Secretariat of State Terza Loggia published on Saturday, on the X account, the first image with Leon XIV's coat of arms, which also includes his motto: “In Illo UNUM”-which translates to “to what is one, to be one.” This maxim, inspired by St. Augustine, emphasizes the importance of unity in the Church.

Lo Stemma UFFICIAL DEL SANTO PADRE LEONE XIV pic.twitter.com/gmhoseoj96

– Segreteria di Stato della Santa Sede (@terzalogia) May 10, 2025

The coat of arms, as well as his motto, is based on those that the Pontiff had before his choice, as a bishop and then when he was a cardinal.

The coat of arms, with the representation of the keys of Saint Peter and of the papal metra, has on the upper left a white lily on a blue background, a symbol of the purity of the Virgin. His devotion to the Virgin Mary was expressed in his first appearance, when he referred to the sanctuary of the Virgin Mary in Pompeii and asked the crowd to speak with him a Ave Maria.

On the right side of the coat of arms is a fiery heart, pierced by an arrow and supported on the Bible, the symbols of the Order of Saint Augustine, from which the Pope descends. The official Vatican Portal News explains in an article that this image reminds of the experience of conversion of Saint Augustine, which he explained by the words “Vulnerasti Cor meum Verbo Tuo”-“You pierced my heart with your word”.

Vatican News also explains the origin of the papal motto, inspired by a sermon of Saint Augustine, “Exposure on Psalm 127”. In it, the bishop of Hippona explains that “Although we, Christians, are many, in Christ we are one.”

The legacy of Pope Francis

In his first meeting with all the cardinals from his choice as a Pontiff on May 8, Pope Leon also asked the high-ranking clergy to renew his commitment to the major reforms of the Church adopted by the Vatican Council in the 1960s, reports Reuters.

The new Pope said that Francis, his predecessor, who died on April 21, had a large vision of opening the church – which has 1.4 billion members – to the modern world and left an “example of total dedication to work”.

“Let's take this precious legacy and continue the journey,” the new Pope on Cardinals urged.

The Pontiff also asked the clergy to “renew together the total commitment” to the reforms adopted by the council, which included the celebration of the liturgy in local languages ​​rather than in Latin and the continuation of the dialogue with other religions.

He quoted the emphasis placed by Francis on “the brave and confident dialogue with the contemporary world in its different components and realities.”

Francis has been a pope for 12 years and often attracted criticism from conservative cardinal, who said he had diluted the church doctrine through topics such as including LGBT Catholics and the management of the Church entrusted to women.

Former American cardinal Robert Prevost, now became Pope Leon XIV, was relatively unknown on the world stage before his choice as a pontiff. He has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru before serving as a high Vatican official in the last two years.

A pope's different first meeting with the cardinals

Leon's two -hour meeting with the cardinals had a different format from the one used by the previous popes, who usually gave a speech and expected the clergy to listen, notes Reuters. This time, Leon gave a prepared speech and then gave the word of any cardinal who wanted to comment – allowing the clergy to express their opinions and concerns about the main problems that the Church faces worldwide.

“He listened very carefully, but he knows he will have to make decisions,” said Irish cardinal Sean Brady for Reuters. “But we are here to help it,” he added.

Spanish cardinal Aquilino Bocos Merino described the meeting as “very cordial and participatory”.

Leon greeted each of the cardinals when they left the meeting that took place in the same small auditorium of the Vatican where the cardinals gathered on the days before the conclave to discuss who should be the next pope.

CEH Cardinal Dominik Duka said that a topic that was addressed was the situation of Catholics in Communist China.

In 2018, the Vatican and China signed a controversial agreement on the appointment of bishops in this country, which offers Beijing a certain influence in their selection. Conservatives have attacked the still secret agreement as a transfer, but Duka told Reuters that it is necessary to maintain an open dialogue in the places where the Church is oppressed, comparing it to the Vatican dialogue and the Eastern European countries during the Cold War.

German cardinal Gerhard Mueller, who entered the open conflict with Francis on Catholic moral teaching issues, told Reuters that the Saturday meeting was “very good and harmonious.”

In order to be elected Pope during the secret conclave of May 7-8 from the Sistine Chapel, Leon needed a two-thirds, ie the votes of 89 of the 133 cardinals with voting rights. The cardinal in Madagascar Désiré Tsarahazana told Reuters that Leon received more than 100 votes in the final vote on the afternoon of May 8th.