Pope Francis presided over a solemn ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Saturday, creating 21 new cardinals — known as the “princes of the church” — and adding them to the highest rank below the Pope in the Roman Catholic hierarchy.
Archbishop of Toronto Francis Leo was among those receiving the crimson cap — or zucchetto — from the Pope and formally joining the male-only College of Cardinals.
The soft-spoken Leo, who was born in Montreal, has deep roots in parish life, believes contraception is an evil and, like most fellow cardinals, opposes women entering the priesthood. While some in the church see a remarkable humility in him, others have been discouraged by what they see as his out-of-touch views.
Leo said his nomination as cardinal in October came out of the blue.
“I was very surprised … my head is still spinning,” Leo told CBC in an interview. “Pope Francis has different criteria now. [He selects cardinals from] the peripheries and not typically from big cities with large Catholic populations like Toronto, so that was part of the surprise.”
WATCH | The story of how he found out:
This embedded content is not available in your region.
Leo is the son of Italian immigrants who arrived in Montreal in the 1950s, at a time when many Italians experienced discrimination. His parents struggled to keep the family afloat, with his mother working as a bookkeeper and his father as a tailor.
As a boy, he said, his parish church was central to his life.
“Growing up, it was a place I met friends and went to play,” he said.
“It was a strong organization on both the spiritual and social levels … with wonderful pastors who cared for us. We felt safe, that this was our second home.”
‘A man of prayer’
Archbishop of Toronto Frank Leo stands in St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica in Toronto on March 26, 2023. Leo becomes a cardinal in a ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Saturday. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
That experience led him to feeling called to the priesthood in his early teens, and influenced his choice to become a parish priest.
“He is remarkable for his humility, his very profound spirituality,” said Canadian Cardinal Gerald Cyprien LaCroix, Archbishop of Quebec. “He’s a man of prayer, a simple life and is in tune and concerned with where the church is going.”
After serving in parishes throughout Montreal, Leo entered the Holy See’s diplomatic service. He returned to the Grand Séminaire de Montréal, where he was ordained, teaching theology, with a focus on Mariology, the Christian study of Mary — believed to be the mother of Christ.
“Mary is a role model for everyone, especially women,” Leo said. “She was at the cross supporting Christ. A strong woman of deep faith who cared about others.”
Catholic feminists argue the Church’s doctrine of “complementarity,” which emphasizes distinct but equal roles for men and women, reinforces patriarchal traditions that have kept women out of leadership roles.
Leo, seen saying a eucharist prayer during a mass on Holy Thursday at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica in Toronto in March, is one of 21 new cardinals Pope Francis named in October. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
Against female ordination
Still, Leo agrees with the widescale call for more prominent roles for women in the Catholic Church that emerged in surveys sent out to Catholics ahead of a two-part synod, or global Vatican summit held in the fall of 2023 and 2024. But like most members of the all-male hierarchy, he is against female ordination.
“I don’t think there should be female priests in the church,” he said. “Christ did not choose women to be part of the 12 [disciples]. Not because men are better than women, but they have a different complementary role in the church.”
At 53, Leo is the youngest among the five Canadian cardinals and in a few years will be one of only two Canadians under the age of 80 and able to vote in a conclave to elect the next pope.
WATCH | The long road to sainthood for a Canadian nun:
Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who held a top Vatican role overseeing the global selection of bishops, retired last year after facing accusations of inappropriate touching. He is also 80, excluding him from conclaves to elect new popes.
The retired Archbishop of Toronto, Cardinal Thomas Collins, is 77, and Cardinal Michael Czerny, a close ally of Francis, is 78. Both are nearing the voting age limit, leaving only Lacroix, 67, and now Leo with several years remaining as Canadian cardinal electors.
“I think the Pope believes that North America should have something to say in the next conclave and he needed a new Canadian who could vote,” said longtime Rome-based Vatican observer Andrea Vreede.
More than 90 countries represented
With Saturday’s ceremony, Pope Francis has appointed nearly 60 per cent of the College of Cardinals, including almost 80 per cent of cardinal electors, those younger than 80 and able to vote for his successor.
The College of Cardinals now includes 253 members from more than 90 countries, reflecting Francis’s push for global diversity while maintaining a European majority, said Vreede.
“All popes try to guarantee their own legacy,” she said. “Pope Francis is interested in a church of pastors, not so-called princes. People who are close to ordinary people, to the poor, to all the things this Pope has worked for, and those are the kind of cardinals he’s nominating.”
But some Catholics in Toronto, where the pope made Leo Archbishop last year, say he hasn’t kept in step with the people he’s serving.
In January, Leo issued an almost 30-page pastoral letter to Toronto Catholics, addressing them as “sons and daughters in the Lord” — a more formal and hierarchical tone compared to Pope Francis’s preferred “brothers and sisters,” a phrase reflecting inclusivity and modernization.
‘Discouraged’ by Leo’s letter
“The letter left me discouraged because it seemed to take a traditional view of the importance of people following Catholic rules and defending our faith rather than listening,” said Frank Testin, president of Dignity Canada, a group advocating for 2SLGBTQ+ Catholics.
Testin said the letter emphasized defending Catholic teachings rather than listening.
In the letter, Leo includes contraception on a list of evils of the world.
“When a man and woman give themselves completely to one another, contraception comes in to divide the union and procreative act,” said Leo.
WATCH | Hear Leo’s full explanation:
This embedded content is not available in your region.
Testin calls the view completely out of touch.
“How is contraception among the main evils of the world? It’s totally out of proportion.”
Testin also points out Leo makes no mention of 2SLGBTQ+ Catholics in Toronto, a city with a significant gay community, and he has yet to respond to an invitation to meet.
In October 2023, Pope Francis said priests who wanted to could offer blessings to those in same-sex unions, specifying the unions are not “sacramental marriages.”
The move sparked debate, with supporters calling it a gesture of inclusivity, while critics said it undermines traditional Church teachings.
Leo said there have been no requests for same-sex union blessings in Toronto, but that he does not oppose them if the conditions the Pope laid out are met.
WATCH | Pope suggests there could be ways to bless same-sex unions within Catholicism: