The Silence Before the Storm: Pope Leo XIV Prepares His First Move

Insights from Fr. Alejandro Moral on the Pope's first encyclical, his working habits, and what lies ahead

While the Catholic world speculates about the potential of Pope Leo sweeping away Francis’ reforms with a curial shake-up, our new Pontiff has done something radically countercultural — he’s paused. In the stillness of Castel Gandolfo, behind tall cypress trees and old stone walls, a different kind of revolution is beginning to take shape — not shouted from balconies, but scribbled in the margins of a first encyclical. In a rare glimpse behind Vatican curtains, one of the Pope’s closest friends shares the untold story of how the new pontiff is preparing not just to lead, but to reshape the Church’s future.