ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday shared for the first time what he was thinking when the votes started going his way during the conclave that elected him, saying he resigned himself to the inevitable and put the rest in God’s hands.
“I took a deep breath. I said ‘Here we go Lord. You’re in charge and you lead the way,’” Leo told reporters during a wide-ranging airborne press conference coming home from his inaugural trip to Turkey and Lebanon.
Leo fielded questions for a half-hour, responding easily in English, Spanish and Italian about a variety of church and international news. He hinted at behind-the-scenes discussions about Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon, urged dialogue rather than U.S. military threats on Venezuela and discussed his hoped-for future travels in Africa and South America, among other topics.
But it was his remarks about the conclave and his papal learning curve that shed new light on Leo the man and what makes him tick. His responses, after seeming timid with the media early in his pontificate, showed he is much more comfortable now, is paying close attention to what is being reported about him, and that he has a good sense of humor about it.
Leo was asked what he was thinking when he saw a huge crowd of people at one of his events in Lebanon, where it seemed as if the size had taken him by surprise. Leo suggested that wasn’t necessarily the case.
“My face is very expressive but I’m oftentimes amused by how the journalists interpret my face,” he said. “It’s interesting. Sometimes I get really great ideas from all of you because you think you can read my mind or my face.”
“You’re not always correct,” he added, to laughs.
A spirituality that leaves everything up to God
More instructive to understanding what he’s thinking, Leo said, would be to read up about his spirituality. Beyond St. Augustine, the fifth-century theologian who inspired his religious order and is Leo’s most-frequently cited church father, Leo recommended a book “The Practice of the Presence of God,” by a 17th-century Carmelite friar, Brother Lawrence.
“It describes, if you will, a type of prayer and spirituality where one simply gives his life to the Lord and allows the Lord to lead. If you want to know something about me, that’s been my spirituality for many years,” he said.
“In midst of great challenges -- living in Peru during years of terrorism, being called to service in places where I never thought I’d be called to serve -- I trust in God,” he said.
That held true in the May conclave, he said, when the former Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected in a remarkably fast four ballots on the second day of voting. According to cardinals who participated, it was clear already by the third ballot that morning that the votes were going his way and that Prevost would be elected history’s first American pope.
“I resigned myself to the fact when I saw how things were going and I said ‘This could be a reality,’” Leo said.
Speaking to a reporter who is about to retire, Leo said he had had different plans for his future.
“Just a year or two ago, I too thought about retiring some day,” he said. “You’ve received that gift apparently. Some of us will continue to work.”
In Lebanon, Leo had a taste of what it’s like to be a pope on the road, and he said the enthusiasm of young Catholics was “awe-inspiring.”
“I think to myself, ‘These people are here because they want to see the pope.’ But I say to myself, ‘They’re here because they want to see Jesus Christ and they want to see a messenger of peace,’” he said. “Just to listen to their enthusiasm and to hear their response to that message is something that I think is -- that enthusiasm -- is awe-inspiring.”
“I just hope I never get tired of appreciating everything that all these young people are showing,” he said.
On pressing international issues
— Leo urged the United States to pursue dialogue and even exert economic pressure on Venezuela’s leaders to achieve its goals, rather than threats of military action.
“The voices coming from the United States change, with a certain frequency at times,” he said. “I believe it’s better to look for ways of dialogue, perhaps pressure -- including economic pressure -- but looking for other ways to change, if that’s what the United States wants to do.”
— Leo said he hopes to make his second trip as pope to Africa next year, visiting several countries but especially Algeria because of its important role in Christian-Muslim relations and its significance to St. Augustine, who inspired his religious order.
— Leo also said he hoped to visit three countries in Latin America in either 2026 or 2027: Argentina, Uruguay and Peru, where he lived for two decades as a missionary. Argentina especially has been waiting for a papal visit after Pope Francis never went home after his 2013 election.
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