‘A close, affectionate, joyful voice’: How a former colleague of Leo XIV describes him
Monsignor Humberto González in St. Peter’s Square after the May 18, 2025, Mass marking the beginning of Leo XIV’s pontificate. / Credit: Almudena Martínez-Bordiú/ACI Prensa Vatican City, May 20, 2025 / 16:58 pm (CNA).
Monsignor Humberto González is a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL, by its Spanish acronym), where he served alongside Cardinal Robert Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV — who was president of the organization since 2023.
The PCAL was created by Pope Pius XII in 1958 with the aim of studying issues related to the life and development of the particular Churches in the region.
The commission works in coordination with the dicasteries, which it advises and supports, including through financial resources. It is also tasked with promoting relations between ecclesiastical institutions — both international and national — working in Latin America and the organizations within the Roman Curia.
With the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium, Pope Francis decreed that the Pontifical Commission for Latin America be integrated within the Dicastery for Bishops. This means that the prefect of that dicastery — a position then-Cardinal Prevost assumed two years ago — will also be the president of the commission.
From St. Peter’s Square, at the end of the Mass inaugurating the Holy Father’s pontificate, González, born in Colombia, spoke with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, about the close relationship he had with the now pontiff at PCAL headquarters, located in Piazza di San Calisto in the Trastevere neighborhood in central Rome.
“My relationship with him was one of great trust and affection, because he came to Rome two years ago as president of the commission,” said González, who has worked at PCAL for almost two decades.
Due to his experience within the commission, González maintained close collaboration with then-Cardinal Prevost, especially upon his arrival in Rome, to “bring him up to date on some matters.”
‘A shepherd always knows his sheep’
During this time, the two met at least twice a month. “Since I manage the administration, I had to present the various reports and accounts to him,” he explained.
From his days working with the Holy Father, González particularly highlighted his “enormous capacity for listening and attention.”
“In fact, he passed by today in the popemobile, and I called out his name. When he recognized my voice, he turned to look at me, smiled, and greeted me. A shepherd always knows his sheep,” he added, visibly moved.
For González, Pope Leo XIV is also “a close, affectionate, joyful voice, one who listens and knows how to discern.”
In this regard, he emphasized that the pontiff has a great capacity for reflection and “does not make hasty decisions.”
“He takes his time and undertakes a very important task for the good of the Church. We give thanks for his presence,” he told ACI Prensa.
Pope Leo XIV has not yet announced who will take his place at the head of the Dicastery for Bishops and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, an entity that also works with the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops’ Council (CELAM, by its Spanish acronym) and the Latin American Council of Religious.
“We also seek to establish relations with the Latin American embassies to the Holy See, with the Latin American schools that have students here in Rome, so as to forge bonds of communion between the Curia and Latin America,” the PCAL official explained.
The commission’s president is also assisted by two secretaries and the commission’s officials as well as by the members and councilors elected to “assist, accompany, and advise at the meetings where subsidies for the well-being and communion of all the countries of Latin America are planned.”
Altogether, Pope Leo XIV lived nearly 20 years in Peru, including eight years as bishop of Chiclayo, which allowed him to acquire a profound understanding of the ecclesial and social reality of Latin America.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
