For Toronto's Cardinal-designate Leo, call he'll get red hat came out of the blue

TORONTO (OSV News) -- Archbishop Francis Leo of Toronto woke up at 6:20 a.m. Oct. 6 to a text-tone chorus.

"My cellphone lights up like a Christmas tree and I was getting a lot of messages that I did not understand," Archbishop Leo told The Catholic Register, Canada's national Catholic newspaper based in Toronto. "Friends and family from Italy wrote, 'Congratulations,' and I'm not quite understanding for what."

After reading several messages and perusing the Vatican website, he learned about his forthcoming elevation to the College of Cardinals. Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals, including the Toronto prelate, at a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica the afternoon of Dec. 7 and present them with their red hats.

After reciting the Angelus prayer at midday Oct. 6 with visitors in St. Peter's Square, the pope announced he would create new cardinals and called for the Catholic faithful to pray for them, "that in confirming their commitment to Christ, the merciful and faithful High Priest, they may assist me in my ministry as the bishop of Rome for the good of the holy people of God."

Cardinal-designate Leo, the only one from North America, expressed his gratitude to the pope in a written statement and requested the prayerful support of the Toronto Catholic community.

"I am humbled and honored to receive this appointment from the Holy Father," he said. "I pray and rely on the prayers of the faithful in Toronto that I will be a worthy servant of the Lord Jesus in fulfilling my responsibilities as a member of the College of Cardinals and to continue in my primary role as shepherd of the faithful of the Archdiocese of Toronto.

"I entrust to the Blessed Mother Mary, myself and this new ministry of service to the Universal Church and to the Successor of St. Peter, the Pope."

With the pope's new appointments, there will now be 256 cardinals, including 141 cardinal electors. (Cardinals can vote in a conclave until they reach their 80th birthday).

Cardinal Thomas Collins, the retired archbishop of Toronto, remains a cardinal elector until January 2027. Other cardinal electors from Canada include Cardinal Gérald Lacroix of Québec and Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who was archbishop of Québec from 2003-2010 and then prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops until his retirement in 2023 at age 78, turned 80 earlier this year.

Cardinal Collins provided The Catholic Register with a message of congratulations to Leo, who succeeded him as archbishop of Toronto March 25, 2023.

"I am delighted that the Holy Father has called Archbishop Leo to be a cardinal," he said. "We are richly blessed in his pastoral care of this archdiocese, and now he will also assist the Holy Father more directly in serving the universal Church. His appointment as a cardinal is not only a recognition of his many remarkable pastoral gifts and his devoted service over the years but is also a great honor for the Church in Canada. May God abundantly bless him as he enters into this new apostolic mission as a cardinal."

In humility, instead of positing how he might have personally distinguished himself in the eyes of Pope Francis, Cardinal-designate Leo credited the overall strength of his Toronto Archdiocese for his advancement.

"The archdiocese is a very significant portion of the people of God in Canada," said Leo. "It has so many Catholics and is a vibrant community. I believe the Holy Father, if I can interpret his thoughts, is recognizing the Catholic community of Toronto first of all. I wouldn't be able to say anything personal because that would be guessing."

Retired Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa-Cornwall provided his keen impressions on why the Toronto prelate appealed to Pope Francis. He suggested that his "goes everywhere" presence in the Archdiocese of Toronto stood out and that the "two of them hit it off" when the Toronto archbishop served as general secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2015 to 2021.

Archbishop Prendergast lauded the appointment as a "blessing for the church in English-speaking Canada" for many years to come as the 53-year-old cardinal-designate could remain in the College of Cardinals until he turns 80 in 2052.

"I think to have a strong voice from Toronto and English-speaking Canada will be a very good thing to complement Cardinal Lacroix from Québec," said Archbishop Prendergast. "They are both people chosen by Pope Francis so they are both people who he trusts and values. Certainly, with Cardinal(-designate) Leo, he was promoted very quickly, which is a great sign.

"I think it's also going to help the church in Ontario," he continued. "The archbishop (of) Toronto is a key player with the government of Ontario and the civic officials through the cardinal's dinner -- now it will have to be cardinals with a 's' and an apostrophe. Politicians come for that and it is a good place for cardinals to articulate the vision of the church and to invite people to respect and honor it."

Born in Montreal June 30, 1971, Francis "Frank" Leo was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Montreal in 1996. He entered the Vatican diplomatic service in 2006, serving in different apostolic nunciatures across the globe until 2012, when he returned to Montreal. He taught theology and philosophy at the Grand Séminaire de Montréal and served as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the archdiocese.

In the fall of 2015, he was appointed the CCCB's general secretary. On Feb. 1, 2022, Archbishop Leo was named vicar general and moderator of the curia of the archdiocese of Montreal. On July 16, 2022, Pope Francis named him an auxiliary bishop of Montreal. His episcopal ordination was Sept. 12, 2022, and less than half a year later, on Feb. 11, 2023, he was chosen to succeed Archbishop Collins as head of the Toronto Archdiocese.

Archbishop Christian Lépine of Montreal lauded Cardinal-designateLeo's achievements in a letter provided to The Catholic Register.

"I extend my heartfelt congratulations to His Excellency, the Most Reverend Francis Leo, on his appointment as Cardinal by Pope Francis," wrote Archbishop Lepine. "This is a moment of great joy and pride for the church in Canada, and particularly for us in Montreal, where Cardinal-designate Leo began his priestly journey. His dedication to the Church, his deep theological knowledge, and his exemplary service, both here in our Archdiocese and internationally, have been a true gift to the people of God."

Cardinal-designate Leo will prepare for the Dec. 7 consistory by spending several days in a spiritual retreat. He will also look to finalize the logistical preparations in terms of the celebrations in Rome and the delegation that will accompany him.

And "though it is especially connected to the universal church and specifically as a support to the Holy Father's mission," said Cardinal-designate Leo, he hopes to discern how he "could serve even more the people of God in Toronto with this new appointment."