Francis and Leo: Starkly Different From the Loggia

On the Outside Looking In: Leo XIV

Ludwig von Pastor’s massive History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages is an interesting source to go to for reactions to the election of the head of the Roman Church. First impressions of the general bearing of a man who would bear the weight of the world on his shoulders were in no way considered superficial in the past. People put a great stress on everything, including the specific physical appearance of the new pontiff, even to the point of dis...