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Toronto’s Cardinal impressed by Leo XIV’s first year
Pope Leo XIV gestures as he arrives to celebrate the final Mass of his apostolic journey to Africa at Malabo Stadium in Equatorial Guinea April 23. The Pope will on May 8 mark his first year in the papacy. It’s a first year that has impressed Toronto’s Cardinal Frank Leo.
OSV News photo/ Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters
May 1, 2026
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OSV News photo/courtesy Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
Since voting in the conclave that elevated Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to the papacy on May 8, 2025, Cardinal Frank Leo of Toronto has cherished the opportunities accorded him over the past year to interact with Pope Leo XIV.
In an email interview with The Catholic Register, the 54-year-old shepherd of Canada’s largest Catholic diocese said attentiveness and humility are striking qualities of the pontiff who is approaching his first anniversary in the Chair of St. Peter.
“He has a remarkable ability to be fully present to the person in front of him,” wrote Cardinal Leo. “Whether in formal meetings or brief encounters, he listens with great care and responds with both clarity and gentleness. In my brief interactions with him, I am moved by his humility and his focus on the pastoral dimension of every decision he must discern, inspired always by the Gospel, that is, by the life-giving teaching and example of Christ.”
Every Mass, papal audience, social media statement, interaction with individuals and groups who visit the Vatican and papal trips — notably the just concluded trip to Africa from April 13-23 — sheds light on who the relatively new Pope is at his core, and what he stands for. But it is fair to surmise that many constituents of the Universal Church are still in a process of discovering Pope Leo XIV.
Cardinal Leo concurred with that larger premise, but stated that “certain qualities are already made clear.”
“He brings a calm steadiness as our Holy Father, coupled with a deep intellectual grounding, a profound spiritual and prayer life rooted in the great Augustinian tradition and a sincere pastoral heart,” wrote Leo. “There is a sense that he is listening carefully — to the bishops, to the faithful and to the broader world — before acting. At the same time, he is not hesitant to speak with clarity when needed. That balance of reflection and decisiveness is something that has already begun to illuminate his pontificate.”
The Cardinal added how Pope Leo signalled his defining traits during his first public remarks.
“Of course, from the first moment he stepped onto the balcony as the Vicar of Christ, his clarion call for unity and peace speak to his heart of a shepherd who loves and wishes to gather us all in Christ,” he said. “This vision is also underscored by his motto, which appeals to the need for us to reject polarizations and endeavour to live and witness to authentic unity which is rooted solely in God and only in Him can it flourish and nourish our walk of faith.”
Though the interactions between the two Leos have been brief over the past year, the Bishop of Rome’s esteem for the Archbishop of Toronto is evident in appointing him to serve on the Dicastery of Interreligious Dialogue and the Dicastery for the Clergy. It was also announced last month that the Pope will entrust Cardinal Leo to stand in for him as Papal Legate (official representative of Pope Leo XIV) at the upcoming beatification celebration of the Georgia Martyrs, Friar Pedro de Corpa and his four companions. This prestigious liturgy is scheduled for Oct. 31, 2026, in Savannah, Georgia.
The Register asked the native of Montreal what it means to him that Pope Leo XIV is already entrusting him with so many important assignments.
“To be entrusted with these responsibilities by the Holy Father is most humbling,” wrote Cardinal Leo. “I see these assignments as a call to deeper service, supporting the ministry of the Successor to St. Peter. Pope Leo seems to place a strong emphasis on collaboration and shared responsibility within the Church’s governance.
“His confidence is, I believe, an invitation to contribute faithfully and to serve with a spirit of communion, humility and generosity. It also reflects his desire to engage a wide range of voices and experiences in the life of the Church. I am blessed to do whatever I can to assist his efforts of evangelization and pastoral care for the flock of Christ.”
In November 2025, Cardinal Leo led the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Jubilee pilgrimage with archdiocesan staff and over 100 lay faithful. Amid the reverent splendour of the papal basilicas, the Sistine Chapel, the tombs of St. Francis, St. Clare and Carlo Acutis in Assisi and the underground catacombs of the early believers, one of the most memorable moments for the group was listening to Cardinal Leo recount his conclave experience. It was viewed as a cherry on top of a special week.
As the first anniversary of Pope Leo approaches, the Toronto cardinal shared how “the conclave is a profoundly spiritual experience that remains vivid in ways that are difficult to fully describe.” Nevertheless, he expressed what he and the 132 papal electors underwent together.
“What stands out is certainly the deep sense of prayer and silence — punctuated, of course, by the solemn rituals and the weight of the moment,” he said. “The rhythm of the ballots being cast, the prayerful environment as we meditated before the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel and the awareness of the responsibility entrusted to the College of Cardinals are all memories that endure.
“But perhaps most striking was the sense of the beauty, unity and universality of the Catholic faith incarnated in the Church's experience and tradition that emerged as the ancient election process unfolded — a shared discernment guided by the Holy Spirit and a deep awareness of the needs of the Church on the one hand and on the other, her relevance in a world that desperately needs to know the Lord and experience His love and light.”
In an email interview with The Catholic Register, the 54-year-old shepherd of Canada’s largest Catholic diocese said attentiveness and humility are striking qualities of the pontiff who is approaching his first anniversary in the Chair of St. Peter.
“He has a remarkable ability to be fully present to the person in front of him,” wrote Cardinal Leo. “Whether in formal meetings or brief encounters, he listens with great care and responds with both clarity and gentleness. In my brief interactions with him, I am moved by his humility and his focus on the pastoral dimension of every decision he must discern, inspired always by the Gospel, that is, by the life-giving teaching and example of Christ.”
Every Mass, papal audience, social media statement, interaction with individuals and groups who visit the Vatican and papal trips — notably the just concluded trip to Africa from April 13-23 — sheds light on who the relatively new Pope is at his core, and what he stands for. But it is fair to surmise that many constituents of the Universal Church are still in a process of discovering Pope Leo XIV.
Cardinal Leo concurred with that larger premise, but stated that “certain qualities are already made clear.”
“He brings a calm steadiness as our Holy Father, coupled with a deep intellectual grounding, a profound spiritual and prayer life rooted in the great Augustinian tradition and a sincere pastoral heart,” wrote Leo. “There is a sense that he is listening carefully — to the bishops, to the faithful and to the broader world — before acting. At the same time, he is not hesitant to speak with clarity when needed. That balance of reflection and decisiveness is something that has already begun to illuminate his pontificate.”
The Cardinal added how Pope Leo signalled his defining traits during his first public remarks.
“Of course, from the first moment he stepped onto the balcony as the Vicar of Christ, his clarion call for unity and peace speak to his heart of a shepherd who loves and wishes to gather us all in Christ,” he said. “This vision is also underscored by his motto, which appeals to the need for us to reject polarizations and endeavour to live and witness to authentic unity which is rooted solely in God and only in Him can it flourish and nourish our walk of faith.”
Though the interactions between the two Leos have been brief over the past year, the Bishop of Rome’s esteem for the Archbishop of Toronto is evident in appointing him to serve on the Dicastery of Interreligious Dialogue and the Dicastery for the Clergy. It was also announced last month that the Pope will entrust Cardinal Leo to stand in for him as Papal Legate (official representative of Pope Leo XIV) at the upcoming beatification celebration of the Georgia Martyrs, Friar Pedro de Corpa and his four companions. This prestigious liturgy is scheduled for Oct. 31, 2026, in Savannah, Georgia.
The Register asked the native of Montreal what it means to him that Pope Leo XIV is already entrusting him with so many important assignments.
“To be entrusted with these responsibilities by the Holy Father is most humbling,” wrote Cardinal Leo. “I see these assignments as a call to deeper service, supporting the ministry of the Successor to St. Peter. Pope Leo seems to place a strong emphasis on collaboration and shared responsibility within the Church’s governance.
“His confidence is, I believe, an invitation to contribute faithfully and to serve with a spirit of communion, humility and generosity. It also reflects his desire to engage a wide range of voices and experiences in the life of the Church. I am blessed to do whatever I can to assist his efforts of evangelization and pastoral care for the flock of Christ.”
In November 2025, Cardinal Leo led the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Jubilee pilgrimage with archdiocesan staff and over 100 lay faithful. Amid the reverent splendour of the papal basilicas, the Sistine Chapel, the tombs of St. Francis, St. Clare and Carlo Acutis in Assisi and the underground catacombs of the early believers, one of the most memorable moments for the group was listening to Cardinal Leo recount his conclave experience. It was viewed as a cherry on top of a special week.
As the first anniversary of Pope Leo approaches, the Toronto cardinal shared how “the conclave is a profoundly spiritual experience that remains vivid in ways that are difficult to fully describe.” Nevertheless, he expressed what he and the 132 papal electors underwent together.
“What stands out is certainly the deep sense of prayer and silence — punctuated, of course, by the solemn rituals and the weight of the moment,” he said. “The rhythm of the ballots being cast, the prayerful environment as we meditated before the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel and the awareness of the responsibility entrusted to the College of Cardinals are all memories that endure.
“But perhaps most striking was the sense of the beauty, unity and universality of the Catholic faith incarnated in the Church's experience and tradition that emerged as the ancient election process unfolded — a shared discernment guided by the Holy Spirit and a deep awareness of the needs of the Church on the one hand and on the other, her relevance in a world that desperately needs to know the Lord and experience His love and light.”
(Amundson is an associate editor and writer for The Catholic Register.)
A version of this story appeared in the May 03, 2026, issue of The Catholic Registerwith the headline "From one Leo to another, Pope finds a fan".
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