The Pope Quotes the Wizard
Door Jam: June 1, 2026
In Pope Leo XIV's first papal encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (“magnificent humanity”), the head of the Catholic Church focused on “preserving the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.”
The encyclical seemingly marked the first time a pope has quoted Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings in his official writing.
The twentieth-century Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien, in the words of a protagonist in one of his novels, described our responsibility in this way: “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.” The civilization of love will not arise from a single or spectacular gesture, but from the sum total of small and steadfast acts of fidelity that serve as a bulwark against dehumanization. For this reason, it is worthwhile pausing to reflect on some aspects of how we, each in our own way, can cooperate in building the civilization of love. Without presuming to exhaust this theme, I would like to propose five paths toward daily and public responsibility: the need to disarm words, building peace through justice, adopting the perspective of victims, cultivating a healthy realism and reviving dialogue and multilateralism.
For the devout Catholic Tolkien, I’m not sure there could be a greater honor than the pope quoting Gandalf.
Specifically, the Gandalf quote comes from The Return of the King. Denethor and Théoden have died. The two great kingdoms of man, Rohan and Gondor, are in disrepair. All while Sauron is still in power and seeking to destroy them all.
Gandalf addresses the gathered leaders at Minas Tirith to both warn and encourage them.
Concerning this thing, my lords, you now all know enough for the understanding of our plight, and of Sauron’s. If he regains [the Ring], your valour is vain, and his victory will be swift and complete: so complete that none can foresee the end of it while this world lasts. If it is destroyed, then he will fall; and his fall will be so low that none can foresee his arising ever again. For he will lose the best part of the strength that was native to him in his beginning, and all that was made or begun with that power will crumble, and he will be maimed forever, becoming a mere spirit of malice that gnaws itself in the shadows, but cannot again grow or take shape. And so a great evil of this world will be removed.
Other evils there are that may come; for Sauron is himself but a servant or emissary. Yet it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.
This is a great example of why the Ring wasn’t the atomic bomb. But neither is the Ring AI. The Ring is the Ring, but the Ring reminds us of all that seeks to undermine and destroy humanity.
“Other evils” will undoubtedly come. Our calling is to uproot evil “in the fields that we know.”
Sources:
Pope Leo Put Gandalf in His First Encyclical: A Tolkien Quote in Magnifica Humanitas — EWTN
Pope invokes Gandalf as he issues AI warning — The Telegraph
Gandalf, Picasso and MLK: Cultural references ground Pope Leo’s AI warning — NBC
Pope Leo Quotes Gandalf From The Lord of the Rings as He Issues Stark AI Warning — IGN
Tolkien, Beethoven, MLK Jr., and Hannah Arendt: The voices that resonate in Magnifica Humanitas — EWTN
Not Safe But Good
C.S. Lewis quote of the week
Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.
Tumnus’ bookshelf
Books by or about Lewis or Tolkien
Lewis’ major academic work provides insights into Spenser, Shakespeare, Tyndale, Knox, Donne, Cranmer and more.
English Literature in the Sixteenth Century (Excluding Drama) (ebook) — $1.99 (85% off)
Behind the Wardrobe
Sneak peek at the bonus articles
New Narnia books coming
John Lennox on his secret life and C.S. Lewis
Lewis on gender
‘Rings of Power’ season 4 production begins as season 3 premiere nears
Tolkien, Lewis, and the “stories that saved the West”
And more!
