“Leon XIV preaches peace, not by calculation but by nature” – Swiss Catholic portal

Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco says he is struck by “disconcerting tranquility” with which the new pope has put on the pontifical load. He also salutes the style of Léon XIV who “poses the symbol of a peaceful presence” after the prophetic pontificate of François.

The Archbishop of Algiers also confides his hope of one day seeing Leon XIV visit Algeria. He says that Robert Francis Prevost came twice on the land of Saint Augustine, and that he carries in his personal memory the martyrs of Algeria.

On May 8, you tell us that you participated in the election of a “very good pope”. How do you look at the first 100 days of Leon XIV?
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco: On the evening of the election, I indeed felt a great joy. I was aware of having elected the pope whom the Lord had in advance designated for his church. I had this thought: “I do not know the decisions that Leon XIV will make, I do not know if I will always agree with them, but I will never question the fact that he is the one that the Lord has chosen”. This deep conviction is confirmed every day.

What marks you in the first steps of Léon XIV?
The thing that particularly struck me is his level of preparation and his ability to embody the function immediately. Leon XIV is a man of “high steps”. This is quite remarkable in his career. While he was only a young Augustine religious in the United States, he left for Peru and discovered a new universe. By later becoming superior of the Augustins superior, a world order, he crossed a new important course. Bishop of Chiclayo in 2015, he was appointed prefect of the dicastery for bishops only seven years later. In this position, he quickly released an authority within the Curia. Three years later, he became Pope. This simple man crosses the ladder with disconcerting tranquility and the radiant smile of the popes.

I must admit that, during the conclave, when I thought of candidates among the cardinals, I was exercising to imagine them in front of a million young people. This summer, Léon XIV climbed a new walk since he succeeded in his meeting with the hundreds of thousands of young people who came to Rome for the jubilee.

“We see it: he is not the pope of a camp.”

Does this tranquility surprise you?
No. We have before us the man we know before. He was known to be a man of peace and preaches peace, not by calculation but by nature. He was not an ideologist or the hero with ecclesial sensitivity. A hundred days after his election, we see it: he is not the pope of a camp.

The style of Pope Leo appears more traditional than that of Pope Francis. For example, he assumes certain papacy clothes that his predecessor had abandoned. He found the summer residence of Castel Gandolfo and should soon win the Vatican Apostolic Palace. Does this symbolic return to tradition reflect a desire for appeasement?
Pope Francis had prophetic accents. He helped dust many things. Leon XIV reinvests part of the elements that had been abandoned. This reflects his natural conception of the papacy that he humbly assumes. But it is not betraying François to return the summer to Castel Gandolfo or to reintegrate the apostolic palace. This is the way we live in the places that counts. So much the better if this petrinian ministry can be assumed differently. And so much the better if it brings peace and if the Church is not divided on false symbols.

“Léon XIV reinvests part of the elements that had been abandoned.”

I also note a great continuity between François and Léon XIV on the bottom. This proximity, which is reflected in his speeches, is not a surprise. A number of signals showed that Cardinal Prevost was appreciated by Pope Francis. The fact of having been appointed Cardinal-Évêque by François last February showed for example all the esteem of the Argentinian Pope towards him.

What are the big challenges of Leon XIV?
Basically, I believe that the big files that Pope Leo XIV will have to be treated are not those relating to the different ecclesial sensitivities. I fear that the great challenge is that of peace in the world. Who has a word of peace today? The first words of Pope Leo XIV- “Peace be with you all”- are prophetic and locate the challenge of his pontificate.

«Il [Léon XIV] is broken to institutional governance. It is an undeniable asset. ”

On the diplomatic level in particular, Léon XIV relies more than François on his administration. Is this too a return to normal?
There, I believe that it is necessary to salute the prophetic accents of François in matters of diplomacy. He was able to shake up the codes to carry the message of the church. Léon XIV does not have the personality of François. It undoubtedly also responds to the will of the cardinals to find a form of governance based more on the Roman Curia and the Secretary of State. The passage of Benoît XVI to Pope Francis had been motivated by a desire to reform the Curia. Pope Francis has carried out this project. I do not know if he resulted from an institutional point of view but I am convinced that the reform was made in the mind. Léon XIV is not a man of the apparatus, his missionary experience testifies to this. But it is broken to institutional governance. It is an undeniable asset.

François’ pontificate ended by leaving open sites open such as that of reflection on the life and governance of the Church. Since his election, Léon XIV, who has participated in the synod on synodality, has not given any particular orientation. Should this young pope take his time?
First of all, I believe that there is only in the church that one allows ourselves to qualify as young a 70 -year -old person. Then, you have to imagine what is to be elected at the head of the Universal Church. Taking your time is elementary wisdom, whatever their age. Being a pope also means registering in a long time. We don’t have to make major decisions in the first 100 days as some policies do. Pope Francis, at the start of his pontificate, had posed many symbols. Leon XIV poses the symbol of a peaceful presence.

On the way in which Léon XIV intends to exercise his ministry, I remember that he gathered us, the cardinals, in the day after the conclave. Very simply, he summed up us what he had retained during the general congregations preceding the election. Then he asked us to put ourselves by three, with our neighbors, to take a little time of silence, and to think about what could be added. In short, he applied from the first day the mode of operation of the synod on synodality. He revealed his working method to us.

“Pope Francis, at the start of his pontificate, had posed many symbols. Leon XIV poses the symbol of a peaceful presence. “

Since his election, Léon XIV has cited Saint Augustine in most of his speeches and homilies. Did he already go to Algeria, to the land of Saint Augustine?
He went twice to Algeria. In 2001, he came to attend a conference on the figure of Saint Augustine organized on the initiative of President Bouteflika and Mgr Tessier. It was an ambitious event on the part of the Algerian presidency which wanted to highlight the universal figure of Augustine.

In 2013, Robert Francis Prevost returned to Algeria for the inauguration of the Restored Saint-Augustin Basilica. This basilica is held by the order of Saint-Augustin, of which it was the prior from 2001 to 2013. On this occasion, it visited its Augustine sisters in Algiers. In Bab El Oued, he went to the place where Sister Esther and Sister Caridad, two Augustines, were murdered in 1994. They are among the 19 blessed martyrs of Algeria. In Algiers, he also went to the Casbah library where the first two Blessed Blessed, Sister Paul-Hélène and Brother Henri Vergès were killed. They were murdered on May 8, 1994. The day of his election, on May 8, 2025, I reminded him of the concordance of the dates. The two Augustine martyrs and the others are present in his personal memory.

Could he come back to Algeria soon?
We hope! Algeria is obviously the land of Saint Augustine. But it is also that of a small church that needs to be supported. Algerian society is waiting for him too. She is proud to know that the pope says he is “a son of Saint Augustine”.

President Tebboune was received by Pope Léon at the Vatican at the end of July, 26 years after a meeting between President Bouteflika and Jean-Paul II. What does this meeting mean for you?
I did not attend this meeting but it reflects a desire to strengthen bilateral links. In 2022, Mgr Paul Richard Gallagher, one of the officials of Vatican diplomacy, went to Algeria during the 50 years of relations between the Algerian Republic and the Holy See. This is very good news that the dialogue continues at this level. (cath.ch/imedia/hl/bh/