“My cellphone lights up like a Christmas tree and I was getting a lot of messages that I did not understand,” said Leo to The Catholic Register. “Friends and family from Italy wrote ‘congratulations,’ and I’m not quite understanding for what.”
After reading several messages and perusing The Vatican website, he learnt about his forthcoming elevation to the College of Cardinals. Pope Francis will hold a Consistory on Dec. 8 in Rome to install Cardinal-elect Leo and the 20 other appointees and present them with their red hats.
During Pope Francis’ Angelus address on Oct. 6, he called for the Catholic faithful to “pray for the new Cardinals, that in confirming their commitment to Christ, the merciful and faithful High Priest, they may assist me in my ministry as the Bishop of Rome for the good of the holy people of God.”
Cardinal-elect Leo, the only designate from North America, expressed his gratitude to the Pope in a written statement and requested the prayerful support of the Toronto Catholic community.
“I am humbled and honoured to receive this appointment from the Holy Father. “I pray and rely on the prayers of the faithful in Toronto that I will be a worthy servant of the Lord Jesus in fulfilling my responsibilities as a member of the College of Cardinals and to continue in my primary role as shepherd of the faithful of the Archdiocese of Toronto. I entrust to the Blessed Mother Mary, myself and this new ministry of service to the Universal Church and to the Successor of St. Peter, the Pope.”
There will now be 256 Cardinals, including 141 Cardinal electors (Cardinals can vote in a conclave until they reach their 80th birthday).
Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop Emeritus of Toronto, remains a Cardinal elector until January of 2027. Other Cardinal-electors from Canada include Cardinal Gérald Lacroix of the Archdiocese of Quebec and Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Retired Cardinal Marc Ouellet reached the age of 80 earlier this year.
Collins provided The Register with a message of congratulations to Leo, who succeeded him as Archbishop of Toronto on March 25, 2023.
“I am delighted that the Holy Father has called Archbishop Leo to be a cardinal,” We are richly blessed in his pastoral care of this archdiocese, and now he will also assist the Holy Father more directly in serving the universal Church. His appointment as a cardinal is not only a recognition of his many remarkable pastoral gifts and his devoted service over the years but is also a great honour for the Church in Canada. May God abundantly bless him as he enters into this new apostolic mission as a cardinal.”
In humility, instead of positing how he might have personally distinguished himself in the eyes of Pope Francis, Leo credited the overall strength of his Toronto archdiocese for his advancement.
“The archdiocese is a very significant portion of the people of God in Canada,” said Leo. “It has so many Catholics and is a vibrant community. I believe the Holy Father, if I can interpret his thoughts, is recognizing the Catholic community of Toronto first of all. I wouldn’t be able to say anything personal because that would be guessing.”
Archbishop Emeritus of Ottawa-Cornwall Terrence Prendergast keenly provided his impressions on why Leo appealed to Pope Francis. He suggested that Leo’s “goes everywhere” presence in the Archdiocese of Toronto stood out and that the “two of them hit it off” when Leo served as General Secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) from 2015 to 2021.
Prendergast lauded the appointment as a “blessing for the Church in English-speaking Canada” for many years to come as the 53-year-old Leo could remain in the College of Cardinals until he turns 80 in 2052.
“I think to have a strong voice from Toronto and English-speaking Canada will be a very good thing to complement Cardinal Lacroix from Quebec,” said Prendergast. “They are both people chosen by Pope Francis so they are both people who he trusts and values. Certainly, with Cardinal(-elect) Leo, he was promoted very quickly, which is a great sign.
“I think it’s also going to help the Church in Ontario,” continued Prendergast. “The Archbishop Toronto is a key player with the Government of Ontario and the civic officials through the cardinal’s dinner – now it will have to be cardinals with a “s” and an apostrophe. Politicians come for that and it is a good place for cardinals to articulate the vision of the Church and to invite people to respect and honour it.”
Born in Montreal in 1971, Leo spent much of his first 51 years serving the French-speaking Catholic community before his unfolding emergence as the active ambassador for English-speaking Canadian Catholics in the College of Cardinals. He was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Montreal in 1996, he taught theology and philosophy at the Grand Séminaire de Montréal and served as vicar general and Moderator of the Curia for the archdiocese.
Leo’s final role in Montreal was as Auxiliary Bishop, an appointment he received from Pope Francis on July 16, 2022. He was installed in that position on Sept. 12, 2022, and less than half a year later he was chosen to be Collins’ successor as Archbishop of Toronto on Feb. 11, 2023.
Archbishop Christian Lépine of Montreal lauded Leo’s achievements in a letter provided to The Catholic Register.
“I extend my heartfelt congratulations to His Excellency, the Most Reverend Francis Leo, on his appointment as Cardinal by Pope Francis,” wrote Lepine. “This is a moment of great joy and pride for the Church in Canada, and particularly for us in Montreal, where Cardinal-elect Leo began his priestly journey. His dedication to the Church, his deep theological knowledge, and his exemplary service, both here in our Archdiocese and internationally, have been a true gift to the people of God.”
Cardinal-elect Leo will prepare for the Consistory on Dec. 8 by spending several days in a spiritual retreat. He will also look to finalize the logistical preparations in terms of the celebrations in Rome and the delegation that will accompany him.
And “though it is especially connected to the universal Church and specifically as a support to the Holy Father’s mission,” said Leo, he hopes to discern how he “could serve even more the people of God in Toronto with this new appointment.”