In the second part of this exclusive interview with America (read Part I here), Archbishop Francis Leo, known as Frank, speaks about how Pope Francis got to know him as secretary general of the Canadian bishops’ conference and appointed him first as auxiliary bishop of Montreal. Months later, Francis “stunned” him by nominating him as archbishop of Toronto. From his experience as secretary general and now as archbishop, Archbishop Leo speaks about the challenges he sees facing the church in Canada and in Toronto and possible ways forward. He also shares his insights on Pope Francis.
Part II: Pope Francis surprises everyone by appointing Frank Leo archbishop of Toronto
Archbishop Leo met Pope Francis for the first time in December 2015, when the executive team of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops made their annual visit to the Vatican. He remembers well that first encounter: “Pope Francis was so genuine. His smile, his eyes speak. Very attentive. [He has] the gift of presence: He’s there, super intelligent, probing, consultative, wants to know, asks. I was impressed by his generosity in giving us all that time, and by his courage and his humility.”
He recalled that Francis was “not someone who’s got all the answers ready and 20 questions and then stop.” Instead, he said the pope told them: “We’ll figure it out together. We’re here together. And I pray for you.” The archbishop said that Francis was keenly aware of the challenges facing the church in Canada, including the “radical secularism, and so much rejection of the church in Quebec.”
Archbishop Leo met Pope Francis six times during his six-year term as secretary general. He said Francis got to know him by name, and even though, as secretary general, the archbishop was “just taking notes” during the meetings with Francis, the pope would seek out his opinion as well.
Archbishop Leo recalls that when the nuncio told him of his appointment, “I was absolutely stunned. I was not expecting it. No one was! I just froze. I had no words.
On July 16, 2022, Pope Francis named him auxiliary bishop of Montreal, and two weeks later, during the pope’s visit to the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, they met for the seventh time at the end of Evening Prayer in Notre Dame Cathedral, Quebec City. There Francis told him in Italian something the archbishop “will never forget”: “Non ti preoccupare, coraggio, vai avanti!” (“Don’t worry, have courage, go forward”).
Archbishop Leo was ordained auxiliary bishop of Montreal on Sept. 12, 2022, the feast of the Holy Name of Mary. Like every bishop, he wears a ring and a cross, and each has a particular significance for him. The ring bears an image of Mary, the mother of Jesus, reflecting his devotion to her. The cross originally had a stone at the center, which he had removed and replaced with a pearl “for three reasons.”
First, “the kingdom of God is the precious pearl. Seek ye first the kingdom, everything else will be given.” Second, “It’s a symbol of Mary, her purity, her availability to God.” Finally, he said: “The way a pearl is formed, the little irritation that goes inside the oyster [between the mantle and shell], and he protects himself by forming a beautiful pearl. And so in our own journey of faith, God allows the hardships or difficulties to help us to develop our pearl. For me, that’s important. The job is not done, not finished. God’s still working on me developing the pearl.”
Five months later, on Feb. 11, 2023, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had appointed this 51-year-old polyglot bishop as the 14th archbishop of Toronto, Canada’s largest diocese. The pope’s decision took everyone by surprise—most of all Frank Leo.
Archbishop Leo recalls that when the nuncio told him of his appointment, “I was absolutely stunned. I was not expecting it. No one was! I just froze. I had no words. Then I said, ‘Please repeat that. Are you joking?’” Then-Bishop Leo asked for some time to think it over before giving an answer. The nuncio gave him two days.
As secretary general of the conference, Archbishop Leo also saw the challenges facing the church in Canada, among them radical secularism, agnosticism, consumerism and individualism.
He “looked for confirmation in prayer” and spoke with his spiritual director. Aware that he was being asked to give this service to the church, he asked himself, “Is there really a serious reason why you would say no to the pope?” He found no real reason to say no, and people he trusted told him to say yes. He was comforted, too, by the fact that he had gotten to know the church in Toronto during his time with the Canadian bishops’ conference. “I wasn’t starting from zero,” he said. “And I knew I had the backing of the bishops with my work.”
Most importantly, he said, “In prayer there was calm, there was inner freedom, peace and joy.”
Gifts and Challenges of the Church in Canada
Archbishop Leo was installed as archbishop of Toronto on March 25, 2023, the feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady. He is now the chief pastor and spiritual leader of some two million Canadian Catholics in one of the most diverse faith communities in North America, whose 400 priests celebrate Mass in more than 30 languages each week in 225 parishes.
He rejoices at the richness of the archdiocese. “Praise God, we have so much giftedness and so much good that is being done,” he said. “We need to see first and foremost where and how God is already at work.” He said he told the people at his installation:
We’re not starting from zero. What am I going to do? I’m one person, I will join the movement of the Holy Spirit who is already at work. Can we tap into him, join forces with the Holy Spirit in the renewal that he’s already doing? Do we have the eyes of faith and the humility to be able to take stock and see the good that he, the Lord, is accomplishing through the church?
He said, “I love the Holy Father’s idea of the culture of encounter among us, and the big encounter with a capital E, with Christ.”
He expressed immense admiration at “the outreach that we do in Toronto, notably through Catholic Charities, [and the] millions and millions of dollars that we raise annually for some 20 agencies, partner agencies, [to help] unwed mothers, people with addictions, the homeless, the homeless in palliative care, homeless who are dying in the streets.” Moreover, he said, schools and hospitals in the archdiocese are “changing lives in such a real way.”
“We’re not blowing our own trumpet here,” the archbishop said. “But it’s happening. It’s happening in a discreet, humble way. The kingdom of God is growing because of that. I’m very proud of all this. It’s the best kept secret of the church.”
As secretary general of the conference, Archbishop Leo also saw the challenges facing the church in Canada, among them radical secularism, agnosticism, consumerism and individualism.
In addition, Canada is a country that welcomes immigrants and refugees, and the archbishop said the church and state both face the challenge of how to “form community for unity while respecting the differences that are many—cultural, linguistic, etc.
“I think [the synod] is another opportunity for us to be first of all a listening church. Listening first of all to the Holy Spirit, putting our personal agendas aside, less they hinder and stifle his action.”
“Like other industrialized countries, we are working together to build a pluralistic multicultural community. The challenge is to do so on the human level and civic level, avoiding polarizations and racism.”
“Then there is the challenge of the environment, and that concerns us a lot as a country and as a church,” Archbishop Leo said.
Likewise, both the church and state in Canada are challenged “to keep on walking with the Indigenous Peoples and communities.” Although Toronto does not have a large Indigenous population, the archbishop went to the city’s parish for Indigenous People on June 1, the national Indigenous Peoples’ Day, to celebrate a well-attended Mass for the community.
Speaking of his own archdiocese, he said Toronto is “a wealthy city, with lots of opportunities, and of course there’s the temptation of thinking that if you are financially prosperous, you have achieved it, and that you will find happiness in it.” Not so, he says. “Prosperity and opportunities can also lead to certain religious indifference, putting your trust in [wealth] rather than in the Lord and in service to others and to the nation.”
Pope Francis and the Synod on Synodality
Archbishop Leo has been involved in the Synod on Synodality at both the national and continental levels. He considers the synod to be “very important” and sees it “as another opportunity for us to witness to Christ, to reach out to others, to take stock of the wonderful things that are really going on and to be open to the Holy Spirit in asking what are the new ways we can reach out to others and help people encounter Christ, and for us to encounter Christ.”
He recalled that “the Fathers of the Church used to call the Holy Spirit ‘anima ecclesiae,’ the soul of the church. That’s what he is. He animates, he gives life, puts the soul into the body, makes it a living organism. He is the soul of the church. He’s guiding the church from the Acts of the Apostles till today, infusing the church with new charisms, opening up for the church new horizons and opportunities to proclaim Christ, to witness, to encounter.
Archbishop Leo expressed great admiration for Francis’ “courage in coming to Canada. A frail elderly man, in pain, in a wheelchair. That speaks volumes. It’s because he cares.”
“I think [the synod] is another opportunity for us to be first of all a listening church. Listening first of all to the Holy Spirit, putting our personal agendas aside, less they hinder and stifle his action.”
Having got to know Pope Francis during the six working meetings he attended in the Vatican, and on his visit to Canada, Archbishop Leo describes the first Latin American pope as “a very generous and courageous witness to Christ. And a proponent of an authentic, practical, Catholicism. He reminds me of a good parish priest who’s concerned in helping people connect with the Lord and with others in a practical way.”
He expressed great admiration for Francis’ “courage in coming to Canada. A frail elderly man, in pain, in a wheelchair. That speaks volumes. It’s because he cares. And he believed that he could make a difference and be a healing presence. He brings a healing word to a wounded situation. He had a million reasons not to come and yet he came: such courage and generosity in doing good and bringing Jesus. I love that.”
Canada has the largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world. At the 2016 census, some 4 percent of its population reported at least one of their ethnic origins as Ukrainian, and since then the country has received more than 650,000 refugees from the war following Russia’s invasion of the country. The church in Canada has five eparchies for Ukrainians and has reached out to them and provides pastoral care.
I concluded the interview by asking Archbishop Leo how Canadians view that war. “Canada sees the fact that one country invades another country as a grave injustice,” he said. “It is just unacceptable for us. In the multicultural celebration, you don’t do that. You do not invade. We work together. So, I think that instinctively Canadians are very repulsed by that idea of an invasion.”
