Pope Leo XIII

About Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII, reigning from 1878 to 1903, was a monumental religious figure whose historical importance ranks him #173 among global influencers in the Pantheon project. His pontificate was significant for adapting the Catholic Church to the modern industrial age, most notably through his 1891 encyclical *Rerum Novarum*, which laid out the foundations for modern Catholic social teaching on labor and capital. This encyclical addressed the pressing social questions of the time, securing his legacy as a progressive force within the Church's historical narrative.

Despite this historical weight, the internet's attention in 2025 suggests a significant disconnect from his influence. Pope Leo XIII garnered approximately 2.6 million annualized Wikipedia pageviews. To put this in perspective, he receives only about one-fifth of the traffic (a 5x overattention gap) compared to Ronald Reagan (#307 importance) and significantly less than modern cultural figures like Michael Jackson or Elon Musk, even though he is ranked far more historically important by the MIT index. However, recent attention is surging, indicated by a massive +701.7% year-over-year increase in views and a +21% momentum gain in Q1 versus Q3, hinting at renewed modern interest in his foundational social teachings.