The personal secretary of Pope Leo XIV, the Peruvian priest Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga, assures that the Pontiff has not changed in the essentials after his election. “Everything remains,” he states, underscoring the personal continuity of the Pope and the weight of his experience in Latin America in the style of his pontificate.
In statements to Alfa y Omega, Rimaycuna—who has known Leo XIV since his time as a seminarian in Chiclayo—summarizes the change in external terms: “Only the clothing has changed, which is now white, and the assignment.”
“Everything remains”: continuity in the person of the Pope
The secretary’s testimony points to a clear idea: the current Pope maintains the same personal profile as before his election. Closeness, listening ability, and availability continue to define his way of acting.
Even in the demanding rhythm of the pontificate, Leo XIV—according to his closest circle—continues to dedicate time to listening and personally attending to those who approach him.
Therefore, it is not a change of style caused by the position, but the continuity of a way of being that now projects from Rome.
The Hispanic American imprint on the government of the Church
Rimaycuna especially highlights the influence of Latin American experience in the way of exercising the Petrine ministry.
The Pope combines—according to his explanation—sobriety and prudence with concrete closeness in dealings: direct contact, personal greeting, and attention to each situation. Traits habitual in the ecclesial life of Hispanic America that are now transferred to the center of the Church’s government.
This imprint is not secondary. It reinforces a line of pontificate in which pastoral proximity and direct dealings occupy a visible place.
A style that unites sobriety and closeness
In the face of the image of a reserved pontiff, the secretary nuances: sobriety is part of his character, but it does not exclude closeness.
Leo XIV, he states, has learned to integrate both aspects: prudence in governance and proximity in dealings, the fruit of his experience in mission contexts.
The secretary: a service in the background
Rimaycuna himself defines his task from discretion. His function is to assist the Pope in daily work and protect his time, including the necessary rest.
To describe his mission, he resorts to two figures: St. Joseph and St. John the Baptist. In both, he finds the key to the role: being in the background.
“Being in second place and letting the center be the other,” he summarizes.
A pontificate that projects his previous trajectory
The secretary’s statements confirm a clear line: Leo XIV has not built a new profile after his election, but prolongs his previous trajectory in the exercise of the Petrine ministry.
Personal continuity and the Hispanic American imprint thus appear as two keys to understanding a pontificate that, without rupturist gestures, begins to define its own style.