Pope Leo XIV “is the man the church and the world need right now” and his greatest challenge, “the one he’ll carry most in his heart, is peace in the world.”
That is what Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, S.J., 66, one of the four Argentine cardinals that voted in the election of the first American pope, said in an interview conducted in Spanish with America’s Vatican correspondent in Rome on May 12, 2025. In it, he shared his experience of the conclave and expressed his belief that Pope Leo will continue along the paths opened by Pope Francis, but “with his own personal or new contributions, which can be full of grace—and necessary too.”
Born in Córdoba, Argentina, in 1958, he entered the novitiate of the Argentine province of the Society of Jesus in 1976, when Jorge Maria Bergoglio (the future pope) was provincial. After studying philosophy and theology, partly in Ecuador, he was ordained a priest in December 1986. He then studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he obtained a degree in spiritual theology, with a thesis on spiritual discernment in the writings of St. Ignatius.
He knew the future Pope Francis very well since they lived under the same roof for eight years, first at the Colegio Máximo de San José in San Miguel, Argentina, and later in the Iglesia del Salvador in Buenos Aires (1990-1992). He opened the Hogar San José for the homeless there, and in 1992 he created the Manos Abiertas [Open Arms] Foundation, which today provides aid to the poorest and most vulnerable in social assistance centers in ten cities throughout Argentina.
He served as master of novices for the Argentine province from 1992 to 1995 and as superior of the Jesuit community in Córdoba from 2013 to 2019. Pope Francis appointed him archbishop of Córdoba in November 2021, and created him cardinal in September 2023.
This was your first conclave. How did you experience it? Was it as spiritual as people imagine, with the Holy Spirit, or less so?
Being my first, and in such a particular world, it was certainly full of emotion. There’s a whole inner journey that accompanies the conclave. Just like it has its outer path, the conclave also unfolds within one’s own heart, right? Where you begin to perceive, fundamentally, the grace of God. One almost concludes that the Holy Spirit truly does work—sometimes with us, and sometimes despite us. But it is clear that this is of God. And I think in some way, the outcome, what we ended up with—Pope Leo—is the confirmation of a gift from God. I truly believe this is the man the church and the world need right now, as far as one can perceive. We’re not infallible, but you do begin to sense it. So yes, I think he’s a gift [of God].
Especially coming from the affection we had—and still have—for Francis. He has been laid to rest, [but] not in our hearts. Some may be quick to bury him, but for us, he’s alive. And I think Leo, without trying to imitate him—which would be a mistake, he’s not a copy—still moves in the same direction. It would be very sad to squander all the paths opened by Pope Francis. And I think Pope Leo respects that path and continues along it, with his own personal or new contributions, which can be full of grace—and necessary too.
Before the conclave you said, “I hope common sense prevails.” Did common sense prevail?
I think it did—along with grace. Really, it was like that. In just a few days and a few ballots, we arrived at what was needed. So yes.
Just four rounds of voting. And from what we’ve been hearing, it seems he greatly surpassed the 89 votes required.
He received what was needed, and it was a beautiful grace. And the process itself was very healthy, very much of God, I’d say. It was a great joy. And I think he himself experienced it with much peace. And for us in the College of Cardinals—there may be exceptions but, generally speaking—there was a real sense of joy, the joy of having chosen well or of letting ourselves be guided by the Spirit to choose well. Some may have grumbled, but they weren’t a group or a majority—maybe just individuals, I couldn’t even name them. But as a college, there was a spiritual consolation that grew stronger. When he was elected, and then when he vested as pope—it was a moment of real consolation.
Had you met him before? What was your experience of him?
In the last two Octobers [2023 and 2024] during the Synod, he and I sat at the same table. The sessions were organized by language groups, and he sat at our table—not the English table, but ours. We shared the table many times. They changed each week, but over the two years, I sat with him almost the whole time.
Did you notice qualities in him that suggested leadership?
I saw a man who was silent—not mute, but contemplatively silent—and a listener. But when he spoke, he was very expressive. He didn’t waste words.
Very expressive?
Yes, very much so. Maybe I can put it another way. Merleau-Ponty [a French philosopher] talks about “spoken words” and “speaking words.” Spoken words are repeated—what we already know, like so many of us priests who say the obvious, or nothing at all. But speaking words come from silence and go back to silence. [Romano] Guardini said silence is another form of the word. And when a word comes from silence, it has depth. I think he’s that kind of man. Even his recent speeches have been short—but essential.
He’s a good man in the deepest sense of the word. Not “nice” in a dismissive way. That’s the best adjective we can carry to heaven. But also not naïve—not at all. He has a universal outlook. He’s the descendant of immigrants. He knows the migrant reality. He’s put his feet in the mud. He loved his people, and they loved him. That’s significant. I was at [the Basilica of] St. Mary Major when he arrived unannounced. A crowd surged in—I thought it was an attack at first! But it was the pope. I saw the faces of the people—immediately there was a genuine connection, not forced like with some priests or leaders.
Some say Pope Leo is timid.
Calm, more than timid. Not effusive—but natural, very relaxed.
We heard you gave a very passionate speech during the pre-conclave meetings. Aren’t you afraid you might get called to Rome?
Yes, but no danger of that! I knew clearly that wasn’t my path.
But you spoke up for the Latin American and Argentine church.
Each of us gave our opinion to help discern the profile of the pope we needed. That was the spirit.
Was your speech long or short? Bergoglio-style—short and powerful?
We had three to five minutes. I used the full five.
It’s supposed to remain secret—but it was meant to help us discern what we needed, and to avoid what wasn’t helpful. People thanked me. It helped us keep chewing over it.
You said some are still burying Francis. And we see on social media people saying this new pope isn’t a continuity—he spoke Latin, used the mozzetta (cape over the shoulders), might live in the Apostolic Palace. Why is it hard for people to see the continuity?
Maybe some external things—a more traditional style, you could say. But he’s no dinosaur. He isn’t trying to go backwards. When he speaks, he’s clear and original. It’s not opposition to Francis—it’s the same line, with his own touch. If he prefers some traditional elements, it’s a sign—but not essential. What matters is in his words, which are very telling. He mentions Pope Francis almost daily. If he didn’t care for him or opposed him, he wouldn’t even mention him—many don’t. So, I think that speaks volumes.
During the first vote—did you think he could be pope?
No, not really. You start to feel things out… But the whole thing unfolded with peace, very gently. It unfolded naturally. As Ignatius says, the things of God enter the soul like water into a sponge—sweetly and gently. The things not of God enter like water hitting a stone—with noise. This felt like water into a sponge. Sweet and gentle. That’s how we got here.
Today a Peruvian journalist gave him a scarf and he said, “Start waiting for me in Peru.” Do you think he’ll travel there—or to Argentina?
I wouldn’t dare affirm that. When I met him briefly, I told him we’re waiting for him in Córdoba and Argentina. He knows that. Whether it’s tied to a Peru trip or not—I don’t know. I don’t even know if it’s on his agenda yet.
What do you think will be his biggest challenge?
I don’t know if it’s the hardest, but the one he’ll carry most in his heart is peace. The issue of war.
He spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and granted him an audience.
Yes. Peace is a legacy of Francis too—but it’s also in him. If we had to name the greatest concern today—it’s peace in the world.
It came up even before the conclave—because there were people directly involved in war: cardinals who’d been imprisoned, tortured, isolated. They weren’t talking about something they saw in a movie. Francis left this “holy obsession,” let’s call it, of stopping the games of war and embracing peace. His harshest critique was that every war is miserable. I haven’t heard Leo say that, but I’m sure he believes it. If a mother or child dies, the war is already lost.
There’s a video of his farewell from Peru. He says when Francis was elected, he thought he’d never be a bishop—because they’d had differences. But he was the kind who speaks his mind, and Francis appreciated that.
Yes, Francis valued honesty. He used to say of certain people, “This is one of the few who dares to criticize me to my face.”
Was he one of them?
One of them? I won’t say.
