Pope Leon XIV. Photo credit: Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
Pope Leon XIV appears carrying a relic cross of some Augustinean saints, with his name and signature in Latin in the official photograph that the Vatican distributed on Friday, reports EFE, taken over by Agerpres.
In the image that presents the new pope in the traditional white papal outfit and will be used to be offered to believers on special occasions or will be published on Vatican's websites, Robert Francis Prevost smiles timidly and wears the golden cross with which he presented to the world on May 8.
The chosen signature, as in the case of the other popes, is the Latin name “Leo” with the abbreviation “PP” (Pontifex Pontificum) before specifying XIV.
The crucifix is a relic with bone fragments of some saints in the order of Saint Agustin, of which he is a part, and on which the general postulator of the Augustinian order, Josef Sciberras, chose as a gift for his brother Robert Prevost on his appointment as a cardinal, on September 30, 2023.
“The night before the conclave, last Tuesday, I sent him a message recommending him to wear the crucifix I offered him, in order to have the protection of Saints Augustine and Monica,” Sciberras explained for the Vatican press.
In the center there is a bone fragment of Saint Augustine, at the top of Saint Monica, the mother of the saint to which the new pope has a lot of devotion, as did Pope Francis. For the Augustinian order, the figure of Monica is inseparable by the experience of converting and consecrating her son.
On the left arm of the cross is a relic of the happy Anselmo Polanco, Bishop of Teruel, “martyr of religious persecution in Spain (1936-1939)”, which died shot. On the right arm is the relic of Giuseppe Bartolomeo Menochio, Bishop of Porfirio, who courageously served the church during Napoleon's invasion. In 1991, Pope John Paul II recognized the “heroic virtues”, the first step in the process of drinking.
Pope Leon XIV, 69, elected in the conclave held on May 8, 2025, is the first American pope in the history of the Catholic Church.
In the official statement transmitted on the occasion of publishing the photograph, the Vatican stressed that the Sovereign Pontiff wants to convey a message of hope, unity and continuity in faith, in a period described as “a great spiritual and social challenge for the whole of humanity”.
The official photography will be exposed in all the embassies of the Holy See, as well as in the Catholic churches around the world, marking the official beginning of its pontificate.
Pope Leon XIV is to support his first encyclical in early June. In this, according to a preliminary announcement, he will approach topics such as the consolidation of peace, the reform of the Roman cure and the involvement of the church in global social and ecological problems.
