What Picture Will Pope Leo XIV Paint of His Papacy?

Inspired by the work of a 20th-century artist, Elena LaVictoire ponders what the papacy of Leo XIV will hold for the Church.

An American Painting 

Recently, my granddaughter and I took a trip to The Cleveland Museum of Art. While going through the massive galleries and viewing many beautiful pieces of art, I came across a stunning piece by the American painter, John Rogers Cox: Gray and Gold. Painted in 1942, a glimpse of midcentury Americana shows the amber fields of grain that the United States is known for. But above the field, foreboding dark clouds loom. In the foreground is a crossroad, a gravel road going north and south crossing over another dirt road going east and west. This was all very symbolic of America at that time. The country had great abundance, yet it was at the crossroads of another great war. Which direction would it go?   

Mr. Cox grew up in the Midwest, where he was very familiar with the endless landscapes of crops and farms. His paintings are full of them, most of them from memory. His body of work shows the viewer his experience, nostalgia, hopes and fears, and what he found inspiring and important enough to paint.  

The New Pope 

This was all fresh in my mind this month when it was announced that we Catholics will have our first pope from the USA! Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, was born and raised in Chicago, not far at all from the fields John Roberts Cox painted 83 years ago. He grew up in a modest home with his parents and older brothers. We know he was well educated, served the poor in Peru, and has two brothers who were stunned to have a little brother as the pope, but are still super proud of him.  

We’ll know other things as time passes, but as time goes on, we can already know a few things. Just as a painter’s personality and background are painted right into his work, Pope Leo has started to paint himself into his role as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church. The papal name of Leo immediately brought Pope Leo XIII’s memory back to the forefront. That Leo modernized the church while promoting rosary recitation and scapular wearing. Did that example inspire our new Pope Leo? Perhaps. That he went back to wearing the red mozetta and stole does give a nod to tradition.  

Or maybe the new Pope was inspired by an earlier pope, Leo I, who persuaded Attila the Hun not to invade Italy. With Pope Leo XIV’s call for peace just days after ascending the Chair of Peter, it’s possible he was thinking of the first Leo’s predicament and call for peace.  

Growing up after Vatican II 

Leo XIV is the first pope to grow up immediately after the Second Vatican Council. That’s a burden I have been dealing with since I was 10. I vividly remember happily learning Bible stories and the history of the patriarchs in my little Catholic School during fourth-grade religion class. Our books had beautiful pictures, and the stories were so exciting. I looked forward to learning more in fifth grade.

But it was not to be. There was so much confusion about what to teach during that time that apparently the powers that be opted not to teach the faith at all, or at least not in its entirety. Only a few years ago, I learned the idea was to have the students “experience” the faith instead of bogging us down with catechesis. The result was that many of us graduated from high school knowing nothing about Catholicism. The consequences of that are still apparent. 

But Pope Leo seems to have grown in his faith. I am eagerly looking forward to hearing the story of how that elusive spirit of Vatican II and the subsequent endless burlap banners of cocoons to butterflies affected the new pontiff! 

The church at a crossroads 

Just as the Gray and Gold painting showed the country at a crossroads, America and the Church are also standing at an intersection. Will the church continue in the style of Pope Francis? Or will Pope Leo XIV be more of a unifier, giving importance to tradition and the faith while guiding and guarding the church in the 21st century? Whichever way we go, the storm clouds and threat will loom — they always do.  

Whatever that story is, it will also be part of Leo’s pontificate, and it is part of the story Leo has started painting in his pontificate right now. Until then, I appreciate seeing his brothers bursting with love and pride for their brother, knowing that Pope Leo enjoys Chicago baseball, and thinking that deep-dish Chicago pizza is about to make a big comeback. Maybe there can even be a Lenten version next year, with tuna! That will all be part of the stories we paint with our lives in the years to come! 

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Copyright 2025 Elena LaVictoire
Images: photo of painting by John Rogers Cox taken by Elena LaVictoire, used with permission from The Cleveland Museum of Art; screenshot of Pope Leo XIV taken from RelevantRadio.com, May 8, 2025