What is the core difference between serving as a Cardinal of Toronto rather than an archbishop?
The short answer: more sojourns to the Vatican.
Upon Cardinal Francis Leo professing his oath of fidelity to the Church and Pope Francis and receiving his ring and biretta in St. Peter’s Square Dec. 7, the 53-year-old high-ranking cleric assented to becoming an important counsellor for the soon-to-be 88-year-old Bishop of Rome.
During his forthcoming audiences with the pontiff, the Montreal native will likely be asked to share his insights about building an inspiring universal synodal Church.
And when Francis departs from this world, Leo will participate in the conclave to choose the next Pope.
As for day-to-day life on home turf, there is essentially no difference between the activity of an archbishop and a cardinal.
But it must be stressed: outside of personal prayer and worship rituals, there is no such thing as a daily routine for the governor of an archdiocese. No two days ever are the same.
Neil MacCarthy, director of public relations and communications for the Archdiocese of Toronto, said Leo, like his predecessor Cardinal Thomas Collins before him, values prayer as a reliable pillar during unpredictable, frenetic days.
“Whether they start the day with morning prayer, personal reflection and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament or sometimes celebrating morning Mass, it is central every morning, midday and evening,” said MacCarthy. “It is the thread that is woven through their day.”
Leo’s first 21 months on the job as spiritual shepherd of Canada’s largest Catholic community has demonstrated that his daily itinerary is filled with a rich variation of activities. Any given day he could be visiting a school, celebrating Mass, dialoguing with ecumenical groups, sitting down with various lay movements and appearing at special functions such as presiding over the University of St. Michael’s College convocation.
Equity is a key principle that helps determine what invitations to accept and which to politely decline. If the archbishop attended one event the previous year, he would lean towards going to the alternative social occasion in order to be fair.
Meetings also dominate the schedule. On any given day, Leo could be sitting down with the Chancellor of Temporal Affairs, the Office of Catholic Youth and Catholic Charities of Toronto. He also conducts personal meetings with individual priests and liaises with various lay Catholic organizations and secular entities — the municipal government for one — throughout the district.
Periodically, Leo attends the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario (ACBO) and Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) meetings to discuss big-picture issues for the Church in the region and across the nation.
Upon releasing his inaugural pastoral letter Seeking the Kingdom of God Above and Beyond All Other Things in January, Leo told The Catholic Register at the time that he enjoyed the vigorous tenor of his first nine months. He saw and learned much.
“I’ve been around visiting the schools, health centres, social services, parishes, religious orders,” said Leo, “speaking to family and the youth about their questions and struggles. I’ve witnessed the wonderful things the parish teams, volunteers and ministers do, the celebrated liturgies, how the refugees and migrants are being taken care of and how vocations in the plural are promoted. And the vast linguistic and cultural diversity in the Archdiocese and how we are engaged in society’s issues and problems.”
Upon his return to Toronto following the papal consistory, Leo plans to keep savouring days that are as enriching as they are unpredictable.