Newly elected as pope, Robert Prevost has chosen Leo XIV as his papal name. No pope has been named Leo since the early 1900s. The most recent, Pope Leo XIII, served as supreme pontiff from 1878 to ...

Leo is now tied for the fourth most common name chosen by popes, along with Clement. Only John, Gregory and Benedict have proven more popular. But we haven’t had a Pope Leo in more than a century.

The new pope has suggested he plans to be a champion of the working class just as Pope Leo XII was during his time leading the Catholic Church in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

When Cardinal Robert Prevost appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, he was introduced by the name Leo XIV. The choice signals what the Catholic Church could look like under his papacy.