When the White Smoke Clears: A Guide to Pope Leo XIV’s Early Days

Liz Lantigua reviews a new book from Ascension Press that brought together a group of expert authors to introduce Pope Leo XIV.

When the White Smoke Clears: A Guide to Pope Leo XIV’s Early Days 

By Father Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, Dr. Edward Sri, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Father Josh Johnson, and Katie Prejean McGrady

Published by Ascension Press

I was very excited to read this book published by Ascension Press. First, because it is a gift and a blessing for our country to have the first American pope, and I want to know as much as I can about Pope Leo XIV. Second, I wondered how anyone could write a whole book about a pope who had just been elected. I was in for a wonderful surprise. 

Thankfully, this was not a book written in haste but one that is very well thought out. Each chapter is written by some of my favorite authors, such as Father Mike Schmitz, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Dr. Edward Sri, Jeff Cavins, Dr. Michael A. Dauphinais, Father Josh Johnson, Katie Prejean McGrady, Ashley and John Noronha, and Father Francis J. Caponi, OSA. It truly is the Catholic “dream team” of authors gathered into one book! 

Essential Facts About the Papacy

The first chapter describes the origins of the papacy — how it is rooted in Christ and how its apostolic succession continues until He returns. The papacy didn’t begin as an idea from a Church committee, but as God’s gift of a teaching authority to guide and unite all Christians (Matthew 16:17–18). This chapter then leads us through the process of selecting a pope and reminds us of the first comforting words Pope Leo offered once he was elected: 

“Peace be with all of you! It is the peace of the risen Christ… God loves you all, and evil will not prevail!… I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for He wants us all to be united in one family.” 

Pope Leo reminded the Cardinals that the missionary conversion of the Church, making evangelization “a guiding principle shaping everything we do,” continues to be a top priority. 

How do we, the laity, support the Holy Father? In his chapter, Father Mike Schmitz summarizes it in three ways: praying for him every day, listening to his teachings, and allowing those teachings — guided by the Holy Spirit — to challenge and transform us so that we, too, can become saints. 

We also learn about the office of the pope and its essential role. Without a final authority to provide a legitimate and truly apostolic interpretation of Scripture, the Church would become confused and fragmented. History has shown this in the various denominations that reject this authority and claim loyalty to Scripture alone. Catholics hold sacred both the Word of God and Tradition, which together include everything the apostles received from Jesus. 

What’s in a Name?

Dr. Michael A. Dauphinais writes about Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost’s choice of the name Leo. In his first address, Pope Leo XIV said he was inspired by Pope Leo XIII’s powerful legacy of Catholic social teaching and by how the Gospel speaks to the challenges of today. 

Pope Leo XIII served from 1878 to 1903. He was a reformer who led the Church through a difficult era marked by modernism, the industrial revolution, Freemasonry, persecution of Italian Catholics, suppression of Catholic education, and unjust government interference in the Church. He left a lasting impact with Rerum Novarum, the foundational encyclical of Catholic social thought.

It was also Leo XIII who, after a mystical experience regarding a spiritual attack on the Church, composed the Saint Michael the Archangel prayer for protection. He was deeply concerned that workers and Christians were being drawn toward Marxist socialism, believing it to be a solution, when in reality it would take over everything and eliminate private ownership. He exposed the irony and unfairness of such promises. This was one of my favorite chapters because it clearly exposes the fallacies of socialism while highlighting Catholic social teaching as an alternative grounded in the dignity of every human person.  

The book also describes Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms, his vision and goals for the Church, and his concern about the effects of AI. He stresses the importance of communication and the essential role we all play in the Church’s missionary work. 

As for what the faithful can do to support our new pope, the book suggests that during this first year we should get to really know him, “free of the media storm and commentary that will try to tell us who he is and what he is going to do.” 

We know that Pope Leo XIV is the first American pope, making his election feel especially personal for our country. He is from Chicago, a canon lawyer, and an Augustinian missionary who served as a bishop in Peru. The book ends by offering the most important way we can support Pope Leo XIV: six pages of prayers for the Holy Father. 

This book is truly a guide for Pope Leo XIV’s early days. 

Ask for When the White Smoke Clears at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from GoodNewsBookFair.com or the publisher, Ascension Press.

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Copyright 2025 Liz Lantigua
Images: (top) detail from cover