Books


Pontiff: Leo’s Plan to Heal Church


American


In first major biography of new pope, author Paul Kengor predicts a return to normalcy and stability.


American Pontiff: Pope Leo XIV and His Plan to Heal the Church By Paul Kengor Humanix Books 256 pages, $34.99


E BY MARISA HERMAN


ven after years spent studying and documenting papal politics, historian Paul Kengor was stunned when


white smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel, and the cardinals announced the name Robert Francis Prevost. The editor of The American Spec-


tator, professor of political science at Grove City College, and author of several books that follow papal his- tory discovered he knew very little about the man chosen to lead the Catholic Church. As news interview requests rolled


in for him to consider, he learned: “I don’t know anything about Prevost.” That quickly changed as the his-


torian got to work learning about the main subject of his newest book, American Pontiff: Pope Leo XIV and His Plan to Heal the Church. Prevost, who took the name Pope


Leo XIV, was not on Kengor’s short list of possible successors to Pope Francis.


62 NEWSMAX | JANUARY 2026


But as he delved deeper, Kengor began to understand why the cardinals had turned to him— and why, he says, they did it so swiftly. “I couldn’t possibly have imag-


ined they would pick an American,” Kengor said. “There was a wide list of papabile candidates from all over the world. The odds of him [Prevost] being picked were extraordinarily small.” With the odds seemingly stacked


against Prevost, Kengor uncovered many reasons why he became the pope after just two days of voting and on the fourth ballot. “I know now he was not a surprise


at all to the members of conclave,” he said. One of the key reasons, Kengor


argues, is embedded in the subtitle of his book: Leo’s Plan to Heal the Church. “He’s seen as an individual who is a


good listener, who is not divisive and not polarizing,” Kengor said. “He is not seen as coming from the right or the left.” After 12 turbulent years under


Francis — whom Kengor describes as “divisive,” “polarizing,” and at times chaotic — the historian believes the cardinals were united in their desire for “normalcy and stability.” While Francis is widely known for


saying he wanted a “mess,” and cre- ated one through his rhetoric, Kengor said Leo has a much different message — one of mending. “He wants to avoid polarization and


bring peace,” Kengor said. “His literal first word from the loggia was peace.” As he told the crowd “Peace be with


all of you” in Italian, Kengor said that sentiment extended to ending both global conflict and divisions within the church. “Francis created some real wounds


and scars,” he said. Known for urging young people to


“shake things up,” Francis’ mantra “became a metaphor for his papacy,” Kengor said. After more than a decade of


“chaos,” Kengor believes “all sides were tired of the mess,” which paved the way for Prevost. By waging what seemed like a


crusade against the traditional Latin Mass and sending mixed messages on his stance on gay marriage, Kengor said Francis created fractures among traditionalists and progressives. “Conservatives didn’t like him, tradi-


tionalists didn’t like him, and even pro- gressives were fed up with him,” he said. “There is remarkable unity and unanimity with this new pope,” Ken- gor said. “It is really a marked depar-


AP PHOTO/ALESSANDRA TARANTINO


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