One year in, Pope Leo XIV’s papacy has been rooted in truth, unity, and love — the distinct gifts of his religious order, the Order of St. Augustine — making him a shepherd who leads with a blend of bridge-building and truth-telling, according to those who know him well and from afar.
Vocation
Priests are called each day to leave the doors of the Church open to a “suffering humanity” in need and not “be an obstacle to those who wish to enter,” Pope Leo XIV told 10 deacons just before ordaining them to the priesthood.
As an assistant project manager working in commercial construction management, Argelia Simon Perez’s days are filled with submittals, financials, and quality reports. Her work requires her to be detail-oriented and organized, she said, and to collaborate with clients and workers to get the job done — and to get it done well.
Pope Leo XIV has shared his advice for how to discern one’s vocation, starting with the importance of creating space for interior silence to “hear what the Lord desires for our happiness.”
Marriage, like every vocation, “can only arise from a personal encounter with Christ,” with the Church offering the “precious tools” of community and witness to foster that experience, said the head of the Vatican’s key office for marriage and family life.
At a counterintelligence base in Baltimore, a corporal and a private met, fell in love, and got married — all within a matter of months. Now, eight children, 21 grandchildren, and 35 great-grandchildren later, the love story continues for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church parishioners Donald and Joanne Levinski, who have celebrated 73 years of blissful matrimony together.
Pope Leo XIV strongly defended the family, marriage, and unborn life during his first-ever New Year’s address to the diplomatic corps Jan. 9, telling the diplomats accredited to the Holy See that abortion “cuts short a growing life and refuses to welcome the gift of life.”
The foundation of sacramental marriage is the unity of the spouses, a bond so intense and grace-filled that it is exclusive and indissoluble, said a document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Sacramental marriage and traditional family life increase joy in the good times, give strength during hard times, and are a path to true holiness, Pope Leo XIV said.
As Pope Leo XIV neared his 70th birthday Sept. 14, those closest to the American-born pontiff said they knew, very early on, that he was in for lifelong service to the Church.