Cardinal Frank Leo, 53, the archbishop of Toronto, is one of four Canadian cardinals who will enter the conclave on May 7 to vote in the election for the 266th successor of Peter.
He is the sixth youngest of the 133 cardinals, from 70 countries, who will enter the conclave. As he prepares for the election, he told me he wants to do so in a prayerful way and without paying attention to what is being reported in the press or said on social media. He agreed, however, to grant this interview to me and my wife (Elisabetta Piqué, Vatican correspondent for the Argentine daily, La Nación) in Rome on May 1.
We asked what he considers to be the legacy of Pope Francis, who gave him the red hat in his last consistory on Dec. 7, 2024, and qualities he is looking for in the man to succeed Francis as leader of the Catholic Church.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
How would you summarize the legacy of Pope Francis?
Some words stand out that were very important to Pope Francis and, therefore, to his ministry. The first is “mercy.” He helped us to understand that mercy is how God works with us and who God is in his mercy.
Another word is “hope.” He tried to give hope to people, hope to the world. He was a man of great sensitivity to the suffering of others. When he perceived injustices being perpetrated, especially on the weak and on those who were defenseless, he felt that he had to intervene, and he had a great capacity to feel the suffering of someone else’s life. He was a man who was extremely free in his inner self. [He had] freedom with respect to expectations. He was deeply focused on Jesus, on the Gospels and on the Christian way of life.
He understood human frailty, and he reached out to people, to all persons in ways that were new. He revealed the maternal face of the church, which he instinctively related to the Blessed Mother Mary. So he leaves us a deep spiritual legacy connected to the person of Jesus Christ because he looked at the world with the eyes of Christ. He was generous and sensitive in responding to the needs of a broken and suffering world where persons, and not policies or political deals, are at the forefront. We saw that from Lampedusa to many other places. So I really see that connectedness to the person of Jesus. We who are disciples of the Lord have the enormous responsibility that comes with living in a world and trying to bring healing to it.
What would you say to those people, especially in the United States, who said this pope is a communist?
No, he was not a communist! He was a man with a great sensitivity to those who suffer and wanted to do something about it.
How do you feel in this moment as one of the youngest cardinals who will cast a vote to elect the new pope?
It is a great responsibility. In our lives, there are not many times when we’re called to make a decision that has a powerful and lasting impact on so many people’s lives for such a long period of time. This is one of them. We make a lot of decisions, but only some of them are determining in our life, like going to the seminary, getting married, joining a religious order. Sometimes we make life-changing decisions, and I see this as one because of the importance of the papacy in the life of the church and the life of the world.
It’s a decision that will in one way or another impact the life of 1.4 billion Catholics and people across the world who looked to the pope as a moral and spiritual leader, and especially to Francis, who gave a voice to the voiceless and was always present, challenging the world. His critique of indifference in the face of human suffering challenges us to greater zeal, to greater generosity, greater sensitivity, greater solidarity. It’s part of his legacy.
We heard in recent days from analysts who say over the past 12 years, Pope Francis polarized the church more than ever, created confusion, and so now we need unity. Do you agree?
We live in a broken world. Our world is wounded. Our world is polarized. The church is not alien to the world. The church is in the world. We are not of the world, as Jesus said, but we’re in the world, and so these divisions, the polarization in the world, are also present in the church.
Can one say that Francis caused this polarization?
We cannot say that. The world has been divided for a long time—polarized and wounded. The papacy, on the other hand, is in an enormously privileged position to be able to speak on a world level to these things, and to contribute to its healing where it is wounded and to unity where there are divisions.
What qualities do you think the next pope should have?
Number one that comes to mind is to possess a great capacity to listen and to listen with the heart. First, to listen to God. So a man of deep prayer and great faith. Second, to listen to the church, the people of God: lay people, ordained and consecrated people. Number three: to listen to the world, to its joys, its hopes and its difficulties, recognizing also that the seeds of the Word are already present in the world. This means recognizing that God is present and active in the world. So the capacity to listen also means listening to human suffering and human aspirations. So a capacity to listen attentively to the Lord, listen to the church and listen to the world, and to listen with the heart and ponder these things like the Gospel tells us Mary did.
Listening also means consulting, so collaborative leadership, servant leadership. That takes more time, but it’s very important. No one has it all. From that source come the decisions that you need to make.
What do you think should be the number two quality?
He needs to be a man of unity, a man of peace in a world that is divided, wounded and polarized. A man of communion. People look to the papacy worldwide for a word of hope, a word of encouragement, and so he needs to deliver at that level, too. They don’t look to every prime minister, every emperor, every president for that, but they look to the pope. Even nonbelievers do so because he is our spiritual father.
But the pope is a religious world leader, a moral world leader. So he has a word to say, and we expect a word from him. A perspective on the world that lifts us up, that gives us hope, that is encouraging, but also challenging the world. He has to be able to have that inner freedom and courage to challenge the world but also the capacity to bring healing, reconciliation, communion and peace inside the church, as well as outside the church.
And, as you said before we started this interview, the new pope needs to be able to communicate well.
Absolutely. And to do this, it is imperative that he be a man of deep faith, deep prayer life, deep spirituality, which is the only thing that will keep him rooted and not be prey to the winds of change and the trends of what is popular today. He has to be rooted in his relationship with God, which will allow him to be a credible witness and to speak to the world. He needs to be a clear communicator of the faith and know how to speak to people’s hearts.
As you look to elect the next pope, is nationality a problem?
No.
So he can come from anywhere in the world?
Absolutely. Absolutely.
What about age? Is that an important factor?
I don’t think age should be a factor; I think experience is more important than age. Experience in the life of the church, having served the church for years in different capacities.
What’s the perfect age? I don’t think there is one. It’s the person, and it’s God. Moreover, he’s not a political leader; he’s a spiritual leader. So a man of God, a man of prayer, of deep spirituality, who will then be able to speak also to those who are waging wars and those who are contributing to atrocious human suffering. But he will be able to speak from a place that is deeper than the day-to-day political machinations of people.
How are you preparing for this election?
I am trying to live the experience in a spiritual way. I want it to be the work of the Holy Spirit and not of human machinations. So if we pray with a pure heart and right intention, the Holy Spirit will indicate a person who is pleasing to the Lord, and who will be God’s choice. It is he who will be Peter for us.
