Bay Area Catholics Hope Pope Leo XIV Will Continue Francis’ Legacy of Change

Updated 5:55 p.m. Friday

As the world familiarizes itself with the newly elected pope, some Catholics in the Bay Area are praying that the new leader of the church continues the reformist legacy of his predecessor.

Robert Francis Prevost is the first pope from the United States. He spent much of his ministerial career in Peru, despite growing up in Chicago and moved to the Vatican in 2023 to lead the Dicastery of Bishops, a department that oversees the selection of new bishops.

Pope Francis, who died last month, was seen by many as a voice for change within the Catholic Church, in his calls for more inclusion of LGBTQ people.

The former pope was also outspoken on broader social and political issues. Francis repeatedly spoke about the plight of refugees and the duty of Western nations to treat them with dignity. He also urged global leaders to take action on climate change.

Now that Cardinal Prevost, who chose the name Pope Leo XIV, has been named the latest successor to Saint Peter, local Catholics who spoke with KQED said they’re hoping to see a continuation of those advocacy efforts.

Standing outside of Saints Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, Maria Luisa Soto described Pope Francis as a revolutionary force within the church.

“I hope they continue on the right path,” Soto said in Spanish. “I hope they provide a positive example for the greater community in the world of Catholics.”

“The reformist line that has existed in recent years, and the doors that Pope Francis has opened, especially to the immigrants, to the people who are dying in the Mediterranean, to all the people from vulnerable groups … that should be continued,” said Carol Mundi, visiting San Francisco from Spain.

“The Church is an institution that has to move forward at the same pace as society,” Mundi said, speaking in Spanish. “And if society goes one way and religion goes the other, the only thing it will do is alienate believers.”

Father Tom Martin, the pastor of Saint Pius Church in Redwood City and associate vicar for clergy in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, said he hopes Pope Leo serves as a bridge between the more progressive and conservative groups within the church.

“I don’t know a lot about Cardinal Prevost, but just from what I’ve heard so far, and the fact that he really was a pastor, a missionary, I think really speaks to an ability to cross natural barriers and divisions. Perhaps that’s why the Cardinals elected him,” Martin said.

The pastor also said he believes the choice of papal name — Leo — may hint at a desire to continue pushing for social change.

“Pope Leo XIII, who was pope in the early 20th century, wrote Rerum Novarum, which is one of the signal encyclicals in the church on how we deal with social issues and social questions: the rights of labor, the rights of workers, the dignity of family life,” Martin said. “ It sends a very powerful message that Pope Leo XIV will pick up that mantle.”

Francis’ tenure as pope galvanized some who grew up in the church but have grown distant from the institution or found their relationship with it complicated. This includes Salina Galea’i, who said she was a fan of what Francis stood for and hopes to see the new pope continue it.

“The word that comes up for me when it came to any of his reform or advocacy is just inclusivity, and I think that’s really important for someone with that much say and power in the world, religious or not, to want to prioritize that,” Galea’i said.

After Thursday’s announcement, Father Martin spent the hours speaking to parishioners who expressed excitement at a pope from the United States.

“People take their relationship with the pope very seriously; it’s an intensely personal dynamic,” Father Martin said.

“It’s going to take some time to digest that,” Martin said.