During his visit to the Quirinale, Pope Leo XIV reaffirms tradition and family. The comparison with Pope Francis reveals two opposing visions of the Church
The words of Leo XIV to President Sergio Mattarella on the occasion of their meeting at the Quirinale are anything but conventional. The Pope in fact spoke of the beauty of tradition, the importance of the family, of the protection of human life always and in any case. He also highlighted the importance of defend the cultural roots in which the life of a people is rootedagainst the harmful trend of cancel culture. Finally, he condemned the war and lucidly analyzed the difficult times in which we live, with very serious risks for democracy.
However, the visit to the Quirinale offered not only institutional images, but a subtle and profound break with Francis’ pontificate. The clear difference between the two lies in the theological, political and ritual emphasis. The different profile emerges clearly especially when the Pope confronts the Italian civil power, with the State, with tradition, with memory. Just like in this case at the Quirinale.
The identities of Leo XIV and Francis
Let’s recap for a moment. Robert Francis Provost he was elected on May 8, 2025. A Pope American, Augustinianwith long missionary experience in Peru which formed him in spirit. He chose the name «Leo XIV», an explicit reference to Leo XIIIto his social teaching, to the encyclical Rerum Novarum and social attention, in an era of technological revolutions and anthropological changes.
Jorge Mario Bergoglioon the contrary, he embodied a pontificate of rupture, centered on controversy, onmedia exposureon mercy, on preferential attention to the poor, to the excluded, to integral ecology, to the peripheries. The style was deliberately earthy and well not very spiritualquite the opposite of his predecessor Benedict XVI.
Visit to the Quirinale: visible signs of difference
During Leo XIV’s visit to the Quirinale, different signals emerged compared to the time of Francis. Prevost seems to re-establish certain forms of ceremonial that Bergoglio had instead reformed or neglected. Yet, the new Pontiff does not seek pomp at all. If anything, it is one sober restorationa focus on form as a vehicle for symbol, not as a display of power.
At the Quirinale, the Pope moves with respect for civil institutions but without muffling the spiritual voice. Francis he often favored one language more politicaloften critical of power. Leo XIV does not deny the criticism, but weighs it, appears more inclined to adiplomatic intelligenceto dialogue with the State and society. And it is fundamental, in such a delicate geopolitical moment. It is the time of mediators, not that of instigators of crowds (and certainly not of Christian crowds, because Bergoglio mainly approached atheists).
How Leo XIV stands out
One of the strong points that emerge is the valorization of memory. Leo XIV, in the meeting with the Quirinale, recalls history, recalls the cultural role of the Church as guardian of a tradition that can dialogue with the present. Francis had repeatedly questioned traditional elements to push towards innovation: language, liturgy, lay presence, openness. Leo
At the Quirinale, Prevost also addresses issues dear to Bergoglio (migration, social justice, ecology, environment), but with a less radical drive in conflict, more balanced in the proposal. Where Francis often chose tones of denunciation (against poverty, against irresponsible climate change, against social divisions), Leo XIV prefers the invitation, the ethical reminder, rather than rhetorical condemnation of the enemy external.
Bergoglio has always shown a temperament that mixed compassion and closeness to the marginalized (the Pope who visits slums, who takes public transport, who hugs prisoners). Leo XIV, while highlighting his “merciful” mission, appears more attentive to institutional decorum, al respect for the liturgy and formal language when appropriate. He is a Pope who speaks as the guardian of the ecclesiastical order, of a thousand-year history that has survived precisely because of the coherence of its values over the centuries.
The spiritual inheritance
Leo XIV recognizes the Bergoglian legacies– the Synodal Church, the path towards inclusion, the fight against injustice and attention to the poor – but he does it with different method. There is in him a desire to “complete”, to bring order where Francis had left open construction sites, tensions, contradictions.
The role of the Pope is that of a spiritual guide, not political. Because its role is a cultural, institutional and strongly identifying symbol. Leo XIV understood this, Francis had not understood it or pretended not to understand it. The stylistic choice – in ceremonial tradition, in language, in priorities – shapes what the faithful and the outside world perceive of the Church. A Pope who most recalls tradition, decorum, order, helps to reassure sectors that feared a loss of references.
The visit to the Quirinale by Pope Leo These are substantial differences.
