The Land of Lincoln and the Land of Leo
Illinois is known as the Land of Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln spent much of his life there, and in 1955 the state officially adopted the phrase as its own slogan. It later secured a copyright for its exclusive use so that it is formally the Land of Lincoln. We can say that in 2025, 70 years later, the same state of Illinois has now also become the Land of Leo when Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago was elected the first pope from the United States, taking the name of Pope Leo XIV in an unexpected but wonderful decision of the cardinal electors of the papal conclave. It is quite obvious, because of his many years as a missionary in Peru and his curial work in Rome, that Pope Leo has a very universal view of the Church with a wide linguistic ability. It is also obvious that he is the first pope who truly understands the United States in the fullest possible manner, speaking English with his Chicago accent. Coming from the Land of Lincoln, there is also no question that Pope Leo XIV understands very well the greatness and legacy of this outstanding president who embodied the American spirit so well.
Pope Francis demonstrated a great appreciation and admiration for President Lincoln when he referred to him at his address to Congress in September 2015 in his visit to the United States that year. In that address, Pope Francis praised the spirit of the American people who have lived through many crises, tensions and conflicts, while always finding the resources to move forward. In doing so, he made reference to the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, whose 150th anniversary of assassination occurred that year. Francis lauded Lincoln as a “guardian of liberty, who labored tirelessly that ‘this nation under God, (might) have a new birth of freedom.’” Certainly, Lincoln is a renowned figure in American history and had a great deal to say to us in regard to real freedom and the living of our faith.
It was during this month of November that President Abraham Lincoln took a journey from Washington, D.C. to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to participate in a dedication ceremony for a national cemetery at the site of a Civil War battlefield. He traveled by an indirect route, taking two trains and six hours to arrive, giving him much time to reflect upon the ordeal the nation was going through. At Gettysburg, on Nov. 19, 1863, Lincoln delivered one of the most famous but briefest speeches in our nation’s history — the Gettysburg Address. Within the passing of two minutes, Lincoln left a lasting impression which has endured to this day. The Gettysburg Address is a perfect example of the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, which Pope Francis referred to in his address to Congress and which Pope Leo XIV has emphasized in his recent apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te.
The Battle of Gettysburg was a major one during the Civil War, which helped the United States win the war. More soldiers died in it than any other battle in our nation’s history. It was fought in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, between the Confederate forces under Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Union soldiers led by Gen. George G. Meade. It ended as a major victory for the north and for the cause of freedom within our nation. The abolition of slavery brought about through the outcome of the Civil War speaks for the equality of all men and women, as well as the need to ensure that nothing detracts human dignity in the face of so many possible challenges.
The Gettysburg Address deals with a finality that brings new purpose. Lincoln dedicated “a final resting place for those who here gave their lives so that the nation might live.” However, the deceased were to continue the mission for which they gave their lives through those who would follow them. President Lincoln eloquently stated words that remain etched in our nation’s history: “It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work to which they who fought here have thus so far nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here, dedicated to the great task remaining before us — from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that course for which they gave their last full measure of devotion — that we highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.” Surely, Lincoln’s words speak of the need to protect the human dignity of every person, which is the foundation of our great nation.
There is a continued need with our nation to protect the dignity and right to life of every human person from the moment of natural conception in a mother’s womb until natural death. There still are many signs of racism, violence and hatred, which threaten the principles for the founding of our nation for which the Civil War was fought. There is also the right of immigrants who come to this nation and seek to become its citizens. This is a land of immigrants, and we are all from immigrant backgrounds. We must be proud of our nation as a land of immigrants and always seek to ensure, not only proper legal norms to be able to assist immigrants, but also to protect and defend their God-given rights as human beings made in His image and in His likeness. This is still a task which our nation is struggling with today, among so many others. It is for us to resolve that the dead, who gave their lives in the Civil War and all those who fought to protect the freedom of this great nation, have not died in vain. Pope Leo XIV, as a citizen of the United States, not only fully understands and promotes this moral obligation but has spoken in a pronounced manner in its regard.
The month of November will conclude with the celebration of Thanksgiving. On this national holiday, we give thanks to God for the many blessings He has given to us in this great nation, so rich in resources and in freedom. While Thanksgiving has been celebrated from the birth of our nation in different times and occasions, it was Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War, who established Thanksgiving Day as a formal and regular holiday at the end of November. Indeed, it has been reported that Pope Leo celebrates this holiday even away from his native land. He certainly does so with a great love for the country which defends the rights and dignities of all, as the Gospel of Jesus Christ impels us to do. Both President Lincoln and Pope Leo XIV are from the same land. Lincoln prayed in his Gettysburg Address that this land “under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from this earth.”
Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito
