Pope Leo XIV in the context of "Bishop of Chiclayo"

A papal name or pontifical name is the regnal name taken by a pope. Both the head of the Catholic Church, usually known as the pope, and the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic pope) choose papal names. As of 2025, Leo XIV is the Catholic pope, and Tawadros II or Theodoros II is the Coptic pope. This article discusses and lists the names of Catholic popes; another article has a list of Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria.

While popes in the early centuries retained their birth names after their accession to the papacy, later popes began to adopt a new name upon their accession. This began in the sixth century and became customary in the tenth century. Since 1555, every pope has taken a papal name.

The Pontifical Commission for Latin America is a department of the Roman Curia that since 1958 has been charged with providing assistance to and examining matters pertaining to the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Commission operates under the auspices of the Dicastery for Bishops (formerly the Congregation for Bishops and before that the Sacred Consistorial Congregation) and for most of its history the prefect of that body has been president of the Commission.

Robert Francis Prevost was president of the Commission from April 12, 2023, until his election as Pope Leo XIV on May 8, 2025. There are two secretaries, both laypersons: Rodrigo Guerra López and Emilce Cuda, appointed in July 2021 and February 2022, respectively. When appointed, Guerra was the only layperson with the rank of secretary in the Curia; the only layman with a higher rank was Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communications. Cuda became one of the few women in senior positions in the Curia.

The papal conclave of 2025 was convened to elect a pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, to succeed Francis following his death on 21 April 2025. In accordance with the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, which governed the vacancy of the Holy See, only cardinals who had not passed their 80th birthdays on the day on which the Holy See became vacant (in this case, those who were born on or after 21 April 1945) were eligible to participate in the conclave. Although not a formal requirement, the cardinal electors have almost always elected the pope from among their number. The election was carried out by secret ballot (Latin: per scrutinium).

Of the 252 members of the College of Cardinals at the time of Francis's death, 135 cardinal electors were eligible to participate in the subsequent conclave. Two cardinal electors did not attend, decreasing the number of participants to 133. The required two-thirds supermajority needed to elect a pope was 89 votes.

The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae; Italian: Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. The Secretariat of State performs all the political and diplomatic functions of the Holy See and Vatican City. The secretary of state is sometimes described as the prime minister of the Holy See, but the head of government of Vatican City is the President of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin has served as secretary of state since 2013, nominated by Francis and temporarily confirmed also by Leo XIV in May 2025.

Edinson Edgardo Farfán Córdova (born September 21, 1974) is a Peruvian Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Chiclayo since 2024, succeeding Robert Prevost (who was elected Pope Leo XIV a year later). A member of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA), he served simultaneously as parish priest, academic teacher, and administrator of the Order in several locations throughout Bolivia and Peru.

Emilce Cuda is an Argentine theologian, university professor, and Roman Curia official.

Dubbed "the woman who knows how to read Pope Francis", she became known for interpreting the teachings of Pope Francis through the Argentine Theology of the People, political philosophers, and her own native exposure to Pope Francis’ cultural milieu. Under Pope Leo XIV she has continued to play a role in articulating the theological and social themes of the Latin American Church within the Holy See.

Pope Leo is the name of fourteen heads of the Catholic Church:

• Pope Leo I (the Great; saint; 440–461)
• Pope Leo II (saint; 682–683)
• Pope Leo III (saint; 795–816)
• Pope Leo IV (saint; 847–855)
• Pope Leo V (903)
• Pope Leo VI (928–929)
• Pope Leo VII (936–939)
• Pope Leo VIII (964–965)
• Pope Leo IX (saint; 1049–1054)
• Pope Leo X (1513–1521)
• Pope Leo XI (1605)
• Pope Leo XII (1823–1829)
• Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903)
• Pope Leo XIV (2025–present)