Our St. Paul campus at the University of St. Thomas erupted in celebration on Thursday, May 8, as Pope Leo XIV was announced. A packed viewing party at Scooter’s, our own Popemobile parade, and even white smoke emanating from a chimney built for the occasion above our St. John Vianney (SJV) seminary marked a jubilant day in history. Only time will tell how this papacy will shape the Catholic Church and the broader world, but it is not too early to comment on the significance of the new pope’s first decision: his name.
In choosing to be called Leo XIV, he is demonstrating a commitment to continue the legacy of Pope Leo XIII, who served from 1878 to 1903. Why should we care? One interesting connection is that the name of our university was almost certainly due to Leo XIII. In 1879, he called Catholics “to restore the golden wisdom of St. Thomas [Aquinas], and to spread it far and wide.” And he instructed “universities already founded or to be founded [to] illustrate and defend” the wisdom of his teaching. Six years later, Archbishop Ireland opened the doors of a new Catholic college in St. Paul – it would have surprised no one at the time that we were named for St. Thomas.
But of deeper relevance to us is the fact that Leo XIII laid the foundation for Catholic social teaching in his landmark 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum. At a time when the Industrial Revolution had displaced and upended the lives of millions of workers around the world, Leo XIII charted a path that rejected both socialism and laissez-faire capitalism. He defended private property rights, insisted on the dignity and rights of workers, championed the importance and goodness of labor, and advocated for a living wage. The encyclical’s impact was significant – in fact, the moral theologian and St. Thomas alum Father John Ryan credited Rerum Novarum with shaping his economic views; President Roosevelt credited Father Ryan, in turn, as a key influence on his “New Deal” programs. Has the time come to return to these issues? As Cardinal Blase Cupich (archbishop of Chicago and another St. Thomas alum) remarked on Friday, “We might have a Rerum Novarum 2.0” from Pope Leo XIV given threats to the dignity and rights of workers in a rapidly changing world. Indeed, yesterday Leo XIV remarked that the Church’s social teaching must respond “to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.”
Whether or not Leo XIV tackles workers’ rights, his embrace of Leo XIII is important. Rerum Novarum spawned a body of work to which nearly every subsequent pope has contributed, addressing social issues through the seven themes of what is now known as Catholic social teaching: 1) life and dignity of the human person; 2) the importance of family, community, and participation; 3) rights and responsibilities; 4) the preferential option for the poor; 5) the dignity of work and the rights of workers; 6) solidarity; and 7) care for God’s creation.
For a Catholic university, the Church’s social teaching is an inescapable reminder that the faith that drove our founding and animates our mission today can never be a rationale for withdrawing from the world around us. We are compelled to care about justice. We are compelled not only to engage in charity, but also to analyze and improve systems that marginalize. We are compelled to care for the environment. We are mindful of the world to come, but we are also compelled to do all we can to contribute to human flourishing in the here and now.
We are just starting to get to know Pope Leo XIV. He hasn’t produced an encyclical or offered a major address. But his name itself speaks volumes. Disconnection from the world’s suffering can be a temptation for academics (“the ivory tower”) and for religious believers (being “so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good”). Catholic social teaching makes plain: that is not an option for St. Thomas. If you pray for our new pope, please also pray that we will be up to the work he has already set before us.
With warm regard,
Rob
Robert K. Vischer
President
This message is adapted from President Vischer's Sunday Reflection sent to the University of St. Thomas faculty and staff on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
