Leo the cat watches the announcement of Pope Leo XIV.
By Barb Arland-Fye
Editor
Assistant Editor Anne Marie Amacher’s daughter Alexandra sent her a text message with a photo of Leo, one of the family’s cats and a Facebook celebrity, watching TV as the Vatican announced the election of Pope Leo XIV. “Leo approves, since they share a name,” Alexandra texted.
That evening, Anne Marie posted this message with a photo of Leo the cat: “Star date 8 May 2025: Thank you to all my supporters as I get ready to rule the Catholic Church and the world as Pope Leo. What mom? It’s not me. Some guy from Chicago? Well at least he chose a good name. Guess I’m not moving to the Vatican. But I am open to heading over there for support. — Leo out.”
Anne Marie’s humorous posts as Leo’s persona have provided her Facebook friends, including me, with a dose of laughter since she started these delightful messages during the COVID-19 pandemic. “He didn’t like having all of us here at home,” Anne Marie said. Leo went into hiding. “I’d find him in a box of his cat toys.” She began photographing Leo, capturing his attitudes ranging from exasperated to pensive and posting the images to Facebook with clever comments.
In a brief reflection she shared in this column March 25, 2021, Anne Marie wrote, “My cats enjoy Tuesdays the most because I get to go to the office that day. Leo the cat has been doing a ‘Star Date’ log (Star Trek reference there) on my Facebook account for most days since last spring. He’s counting down the days until I am out of here 5 days a week. I think doing this together keeps us both sane. Although there are several benefits to working at home, I miss adult interaction the most. The cats will have to do until our staff is back full-time in the office.”
Three months later, I wrote about our staff’s return to the office after 15 months of working at home except on Tuesdays, which is press day. For me, the return was as challenging as the departure. “Slowly, warily, I developed new routines and rhythms,” I said in the column. “One of the ‘constants’ I appreciated: Assistant Editor Anne Marie Amacher’s daily postings from Leo the cat. Every night before bed, I bonded with Leo on Facebook.”
The Vatican doesn’t allow pets, according to various news sources that I checked, so Leo won’t be getting a personal invitation to visit anytime soon! I did read that the late Pope Benedict adored cats and had two as pets — but in Germany, not at his Vatican residence, ABC News reported Feb. 11, 2013, less than three weeks before he resigned as pope.
Leo, don’t panic! The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Animals are entrusted to man’s stewardship; he must show them kindness. They may be used to serve the just satisfaction of man’s needs” (No. 2457). That means more pampering from “Mom.”
We give thanks to God for our new Pope Leo, as he leads our Church and for Leo the cat, who under Anne Marie’s guidance leads us to laughter.
(Contact arland-fye@davenportdiocese.org)
