Pope Leo XIV’s election by the college of cardinals on Thursday surprised millions of Catholics around the world, including the former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.
On the latest episode of “The Takeaway with Alex,” Dr. Miguel Diaz shared his thoughts about the new pope as a diplomat, theologian, and one-time dinner companion of Pope Leo XIV.
“Truth be told I had some tears in my eyes,” said Diaz, who is currently The John Courtney Murray, S.J. University Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago.
Diaz served as ambassador to the Holy see from 2009 to 2012, under the Obama Administration. He has met Pope Francis, and reflected on a dinner in Chicago in August 2024 with then-Cardinal Robert Prevost.
“He was very approachable,” said Diaz. “The conversation was long…and we raised a number of issues.”
Watch the full episode in the player below.
He said he had no personal hint that Prevost might one day become pope, but knew Prevost and Pope Francis were close. Pope Francis elevated Prevost to cardinal in September 2023.
“While I personally did not have any inkling, there clearly were already indications in conversations that I have had that this was one of the person that we call a papabile, or a potential future pope,” said Diaz.
Diaz discussed at length the similarities between Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV. He said the first hint toward continuity in belief came from him choosing the name “Leo.”
“The fact that he took this name…leads me to believe that he’s been very much concerned with poverty, violence, migration,” said Diaz.
Diaz said it is the “best kept secret” in the Catholic Church that Leo is associated with modern Catholic social teaching. He added that, like Pope Francis, Pope Leo the XIV will emphasize universal human dignity as a major platform of the church he now leads.
“You can already begin to see that there is going to be continuity between him and Pope Francis in terms of the social justice dimensions of the church, his words [of peace] and in terms of his personal demeanor,” said Diaz.
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