The white smoke announcing Pope Leo XIV’s election at 6.08 pm in Rome sent the crowds of the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square into wild expressions of delight and surprise. An American pope had not been expected though Leo’s South American missionary work has led to hopes of a unity head of the church, bringing together disparate factions.
He has taken the name of the previous revolutionary Pope Leo X111, regarded as the founding father of Catholic social doctrine in modern times. He positioned himself on the side of the working class, affirming such things as the right of workers to decent working conditions, a just wage, labor unions and the right to strike. He went on to serve as pope for 25 years.
This Pope Leo XIV, born 14 September 1955 in Chicago, no birth time as yet, is a Sun Venus in Virgo sextile Saturn in Scorpio with Mars and perhaps Moon also in Virgo. His Jupiter in Leo is in a confident conjunction to Pluto square Saturn. Flexible, knowledgeable and tough.
Though he does not have his name predecessor Leo X111’s revolutionary drive. He was born 2 March 1810 7pm Carpineto Romano, Italy and had a determined Sun Pluto in Pisces square Neptune Saturn in Sagittarius and trine Uranus. He was elected on 20 February 1878 when there was a revolutionary Pluto square Uranus and Uranus on the focal point of a wide-ish yod inconjunct Jupiter sextile Saturn.
Nor does he have the recent Pope Francis’s Uranus square Pluto in his birth chart and even more obvious in his election chart.
What he does have is an uphill-struggle Pluto in the 4th opposition a 10th house Mars on his election chart pointing at internal resistance to change. Uranus Algol in the 8th hint at financial entanglements which are difficult to resolve. The Jupiter falls in the far-travelled 9th so his greatest success may come away from Rome.
He has already raised the ire of the MAGA zealots for his views on gun control and immigration and previous criticism of JD Vance and a number of key Trump policies online. Laura Loomer, a Trumpian conspiracy theorist said: ‘He is anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis,’ she went on, later. ‘Catholics don’t have anything good to look forward to.’
His synastry with Trump is dire. Pope Leo’s Pluto is conjunct DT’s Mars in Leo and Ascendant and square DT’s Midheaven. With Pope Leo’s Sun Venus square DT’s Uranus Sun. Pope Leo’s Sagittarius North Node is conjunct DT’s Moon and opposition his Sun North Node hinting at ‘spiritual’ journeys going in opposite direction.
This election chart is not an easy one for making substantive progress but he will clash with the pro-Trumpers.
Add On: The three previous Popes election charts. John Paul with Mars Pluto in the 8th is ominous with a good deal of buried dirt and secrets, glossed over by a popular Jupiter on the Descendant.
Benedict, a serious Saturn in the 10th square Sun.
Francis had a 7th house Moon and Uranus with Mars conjunct the Descendant from the 6th and a 4th house Pluto – plenty of fire and divisive argument and pushback from the internal politics.
On the day that the new Pope was elected, it was announced that Trump had donated $40,000,000 for Pope Francis’s funeral. It was in an Italian newspaper.
@El Aznar yes, of course you’re so right. Thanks so very much for your insights. Without you, I’m sure I might never have known that the College of Cardinals is composed of brilliant, politically canny, well-informed, highly educated, multi-lingual, multi-cultural men. Who would have guessed?
Seriously, save your snark. I was merely trying to suggest that the decision wasn’t *just* about America, since we live in a multi-polar world.
To your other confusion: His grandparents were creoles from the melting pot of New Orleans, where “creole” traditionally can mean a) of Spanish descent, b) of French descent, c) of mixed Spanish-French descent, or d) of mixed Spanish-African or French-African descent.
According to the census, his grandfather, whose surname was “Martinez,” was born in Haiti; his grandmother’s maiden name was “Baquié.” I’m sure you can do the math for yourself, but just in case: Haiti was initially colonized by the Spanish as well as the French (look up “Republic of Spanish Haiti”). It appears that his grandparents were both Afro-Caribbean–in his grandfather’s case, also of Spanish descent, in his grandmother’s, also of French descent.
Al22, I am not snarky. I don’t know what is with your attitude and defensiveness; you were being snarky and then projected it onto me. You were also trying to school me, and you are now saying I was trying to be so to you, projecting again. You implied I was saying something I wasn’t. I was wondering – not stating. Let’s just drop this and go back to the astrology. It would be nice if you stopped creating feuds and bad atmosphere here, which is something we just barely got rid of. People come here for thoughtful comments and discussions; not bickering and battle of the brains.
Creole Black cannot mean in any way Spanish.
This is in a way muddying of facts.
The new pope’s father was Franco-Italian. His family name is common in Québec where I live. Prevost is the name of a small town here and a well-known manufacturing company.
We don’t have a birth time but we know he has three major planets in Leo, the sign of gold, which he apparently likes to wear or surround himself with, not for his personal glory like Trump but for the greater glory of God. As a former Catholic, I watch this with detachment and respect.
His natal Uranus at 0 Leo is trine the current Saturn-Neptune conjunction is Aries. We can safely expect his midheaven to be in one of these fire signs. His stellium in Virgo, including the Sun, Moon and Mars, is sextile Saturn in Scorpio square Pluto. He is built for the long haul. I expect he will be around until mid-century. Uranus in Leo will be conjunct his natal Pluto and opposite the US Moon in 2047-48. If he lives, he could play a central role in the Second American Revolution.
The Pope’s brother was being interviewed, he said their grandparents came from Haiti.
I also wondered about the new Pope’s ego, but maybe it’s just good conjunctions. My Dad had that same Jupiter/Pluto conjunction in Leo and never felt insecure a day in his life. Public speaking in particular, you could ask Dad to speak in front of a thousand people with 10 minutes notice and he’d breeze right up there, unprepared, have the audience in the palm of his hand. I’ve always envied that Jupiter/Pluto confidence, I saw it again in the Pope on the balcony.
@El Azner, there’s a great line in the “Conclave” movie about how all bishops secretly in their hearts choose a name in case the papacy ever comes to them.
Marjorie, the new Pope need not be a revolutionary per se. Just being a rational example of kindness and decency in the vein of Pope Francis and the prior Pope Leo III is itself a revolutionary act against America’s Pluto Capricorn Reactionary mean streak, with Trump as its incorrigible avatar in our current, lingering era.
I’m hopeful that Pope Leo XIV will outlive MAGA and then some. He may well come to set a stark contrast between the bigotry, malice and lunacy of Trump, Vance, Loomer and the nuttery of MAGA in general, shining light on the spirit of what Americans can rise to and become in the world when they listen instead to their better angels.
Clarence, I agree with you. Being kind, quiet and decent is indeed a stark contrast to the mean, loud and venal vein of the current US president and his cult. Someone recently pointed out how Mark Carney’s quiet, dignified, sane yet steely demeanor when meeting with Trump was the perfect response because it doesn’t feed into the outrage he likes to stir up and instead seemed to unnerve him. Virgo is the sign of service to others, something Trump has shown himself to have no understanding of (famously calling fallen US servicemen suckers and losers). Pope Leo is young and apparently healthy so is likely to outlive the MAGA madness and show the world the better angels of the American spirit.
Agreed, Clarence. Many must be thirsting for a ‘quiet, dignified and kind’ leader for our times. It seems even non-religious folk see hope in this man.
The Saturn-Neptune conjunction is beginning to take effect. It does not produce the most spiritual or revolutionary popes but those with a great effect on world history. At the last such conjunction in 1989, John Paul II played a key role in the events in his native Poland leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the non-violent dissolution of the Soviet Union. At the same time, the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize, allowing him to reach millions in the West and to become an alternate spiritual leader. Also, Desmond Tutu, the Anglican archbishop of South Africa, was instrumental in the overthrow of apartheid. Major spiritual leaders will probably emerge with political influence in the coming year and it is likely that Leo XIV will be one of them. He is clearly the Catholic Church’s response to Trump.
This pope has already shown he has a long view of history. Trump often refers to the Gilded Age of the 1890s, when tariffs were government policy (quicky abandoned because of their disastrous effect, particularly on trade with Canada which had quickly found other partners in what was then the British Empire). The gap between rich and poor was extreme as it will become in coming years when this Saturn-Neptune conjunction squares US Venus, Jupiter and Sun. Leo XIII (Leon in French) was the pope of the Gilded Age. In 1891, the year of the Neptune-Pluto conjunction which founded the modern era, he abandoned perennial Church rhetoric in favor of a return to a bygone rural time and was the first pope who defended the rights of industrial workers, trade unions and the urban poor. He embraced social democracy and explicitly denounced both marxism and plutocrats. In 1898, he criticized what he called the American heresy of accommodating Catholic teachings to the Protestant capitalist ethic.
Leo I, one of only two popes called the Great, was even more interesting. He was pope at the time of the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. He ensured that the Church would survive this cataclysmic and world-changing event. He somehow persuaded Attila the Hun, from what is now Hungary, not to enter the defenceless city of Rome which would have meant its destruction. Attila died miraculously soon after. Many have foreseen the fall of Putin during the coming year. When Stalin died in 1953, there was another Saturn-Neptune conjunction and Pope Pius XII, a staunch anti-communist, was triumphant. Leo I was also a masterful conciliator within the Church.
The great saint at the time of Leon I was Saint Augustine, the new pope’s major inspiration. Leo XIV is the first pope from the Augustinian order and its former leader. Augustine wrote one of the foundational books of Western civilization, his Confessions, in which he relates his transformation from a cultured and privileged young man who was a Roman citizen into a humble Christian who founded the first monastic orders and emphasized community life. Leo may see his own life path in the same way.
See, this also makes me wary of the ego when you choose a name to be seen as someone who had a big influence. And not something modest, and then we shall see, and you may surprise us.
@El Aznar, with respect, I think that’s a misreading of the quote from St. Augustine. The new pope is an Augustinian, and he appears to be acknowledging his spiritual formation and roots while asserting that he will follow the Augustinian model of service, which is submission to those served–so, basically, exactly the opposite of being a ruler in the traditional sense.
Speaking as a Chicagoan, I am so thrilled by this choice, and people here are jubilant. The good-natured Chicago-pope jokes are flying–especially the ones expressing hopes for divine intervention on behalf of the Chicago Bears! It’s such a happy event, and it feels like a balm for a city (and a state, Illinois) that DJT is trying to punish for our pro-immigrant, pro-worker, pro-“ordinary people” policies and orientation. DJT hates so-called “sanctuary cities” like Chicago. (And to be fair, Chicago hates DJT right back.)
There’s also a bit of unintended poetry in the timing for us, since the day before the papal announcement, the head of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem (popularly known as “ICE Barbie”) traveled through Chicago on her way to the state capitol, where she conducted a staged event intended to dramatically publicize the alleged dangers of “sanctuary” policies and illegal immigration. (In her speech, Noem used the murder of a local woman, Emma Shafer, as a pretext to demonize immigrants, apparently unaware that Ms. Shafer was a pro-immigrant activist whose mother was among a group of counter-protesters present.)
More importantly, the new pope’s deep connection to Latin America seems especially significant, since Latin America hosts the largest numbers of Catholics on the planet, and Latin Americans have been special targets of maga’s anti-immigrant cruelty. (Leo XIV actually has dual U.S.-Peruvian citizenship, and is reportedly fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese.)
The man’s spiritual and temporal qualifications aside, his election feels like a delicious, much-deserved symbolic thumb in the eye of fascists and bigots generally and of DJT and maga in particular. I hope Leo truly does turn out to be another “people’s pope.”
It would be interesting to see how his chart aligns with those of pro-democracy movements in Latin America, or with that of the late Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who was murdered for his outspoken advocacy of social justice. (Is it a coincidence that DJT’s gulags are in El Salvador?)
I wasn’t stating – I was asking.
Also weird that the Vatican release says his mother is of Spanish descent, and in the Chicago Sun Times and The New York Times gives his maternal grandparents are Black Creole who moved from Louisiana to Chicago.
Where did then the Spanish descent come from in an official release?
And the election is not a thumb in the eye – it is very likely a very calculated and thought-through decision of 133 superclever people who have multiple degrees, doctorates, and speak a bajillion languages. Also very well-versed in politics, diplomacy, spying, and human psychology.
I reckon this Pope is one cool, tough Chicago dude ! That little smile! Come to kick Trump’s nuts along with Carney. Problem for Trump is his missus is a staunch Catholic. She won’t be hearing nothing against him at the dinner table.
I wish him well – he’s so young (!) for a Pope – be interesting to watch how effective he becomes. Saturn in 6th could also point to responsible service.
What do you think about the Moon in the 12th?
Not sure El, Francis election chart – Moon in 7th, Benedict – not sure but John Paul II – Moon in 12th as well. I’m not knowledgeable about his legacy but it might be interesting.
That Saturn in the sixth of the election might speak about a lot of frustration (Saturn) in daily life (of the papacy? The Church during this pontification?), and Venus–Neptune about insincerities (Neptune) about money (and maybe women [Venus], and women don’t look good in that election in other ways too). Neptune is also a kind of health-problems harbinger, in a way, in the sixth.
I also wonder about his ego – his papal robes are a statement, and I was a little taken aback with that St. Augustine quote, a Christian among you, a bishop for you.
Does he mean ‘I am your majesty to you’ or ‘I am at your service as a bishop for you’?
Then this whole weird business of him discussing a possible name he’d choose if elected… As if he was preparing. And you have to have an ego to think about it, hope/consider so much so that you think about the name, and ultimately you accept.
Ever since I saw that Mercury–Chiron conjunction, and so close to an axis, I wonder what might it be. And maybe there was a hint, as he got a bit lost, stumbled for a moment, on the balcony, and I wonder what other wound (Chiron) in communication (Mercury, which is also the planet of youth, young people) will pop up, especially since it is in the 7th house, of other people, partners etc.