History was made on Thursday when Robert Francis Prevost was selected as the first American head of the Catholic Church, taking the name of Pope Leo XIV.
The idea of an American pope has historically been considered a long shot because cardinals typically pick leaders from non-superpower nations.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday’s historic election:
American Catholics rejoice
When white smoke began to billow above the Sistine Chapel after just two days of conclave deliberation, signaling a new pope had been selected, anticipation around the world immediately grew.
As soon as Leo walked across the balcony to address the crowd gathered in Vatican City, news that the incoming pope was an American — the first ever — spread across the country like wildfire.
In the U.S., cable and network news channels provided wall-to-wall coverage of the scene in Rome, which saw thousands of people cheering, praying and crying as Leo spoke to the crowd.
American Catholics proclaimed pride across social media, while top U.S. leaders issued statements congratulating the church’s newest historic leader.
“The church in the U.S. has been growing at a smaller but steady rate and this is likely to send that into overdrive,” said David Lantigua, co-director of the University of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism.
“The fact his first language is English will give him an ability to communicate to the U.S. church and give him a certain amount of trust among American Catholics.”
The first American pope is likely to draw outsized attention and scrutiny, Lantigua said, though he predicted Leo “won’t back down on issues that are of importance for the church in its defense in the dignity of the poor and the needy.”
Trump says it’s an ‘honor’ pope is American
Minutes after Leo took the balcony to address the crowd gathered in Vatican City, President Trump weighed in, expressing gratitude the new pope was born in the U.S.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website. “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
Trump, who had just days earlier joked that he himself would like to be pope, indicated before Thursday’s decision his pick for the vacant papacy was Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a conservative and New York’s archbishop.
Vice President Vance also congratulated Leo, writing that “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!”
Earlier this year, Leo shared a column calling Vance wrong for comments about the prioritization of love for others. And the new pope’s most recent repost criticizes the Trump administration’s deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
“Obviously, as an American, I think many Americans will take great pride in one of their fellow citizens being elected Pope, which is something that for much of the history of this country would have seemed scarcely imaginable,” said Daniel Rober, chair of the department of Catholic studies at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
“On the other hand, I do think that his approach to the United States in terms of diplomacy and other matters will probably continue on the track established by Pope Francis. … I would think that this signals likely a continued kind of rocky path with the Trump administration and with perhaps some of the American bishops,” he added.
New pope grew up in Chicago, attended Villanova
Leo, 69, was born in Chicago and did much of his work for the church in Peru. An Augustinian friar, he graduated from Villanova University in 1977.
He was raised in Dolton, Ill., to Louis Prevost, a superintendent of Glenwood School District 167, and Millie Prevost, a librarian, according to South Cook News.
A pope from the American Midwest sparked a torrent of online jokes and memes on Thursday, with Chicago’s mayor writing on social media “everything dope, including the Pope, comes from Chicago! Congratulations to the first American Pope Leo XIV! We hope to welcome you back home soon.”
Leo’s selection was also a major moment for one of the largest Catholic colleges in the U.S.
Villanova was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, and when Leo graduated, he joined the Augustinian order of the Catholic priests. His bio on the social platform X reads, “Católico, agustino, Obispo,” which translate to “Catholic, Augustinian, Bishop.”
“Known for his humility, gentle spirit, prudence and warmth, Pope Leo XIV’s leadership offers an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to our educational mission,” said Villanova President Rev. Peter M. Donohue in a statement issued through the school.
Leo brings global perspective to Church
Though he was born and raised in the U.S., Leo spent much of his career as a missionary in South America, becoming a bishop in Peru. He holds both U.S. and Peruvian citizenship, giving him what Church followers and religious scholars anticipate will be a global perspective as he presides over the church.
Leo was described in some pre-conclave talks as “the least American of the American cardinals,” Rober said.
“He’s somebody who’s keenly aware of the U.S. and the kinds of issues that it faces and that the church here faces, but he’s somebody who is not of the U.S. church in recent decades,” Rober said. “He’s certainly somebody who himself has lived a life across borders, who has lived a life in many countries, has seen different social conditions of Latin America.”
The last pope with the same name, Pope Leo XIII, helmed the church more than 100 years ago and was known for his work on Catholic social teaching, one of the principles of which is the free movement of peoples.
At a time when the hot-button issue of immigration is overwhelming discourse in the U.S. and elsewhere, the cardinals’ selection of Leo “sends a certain kind of message,” Rober noted.
Those who know Leo best say he, like Francis before him, has a deep concern for the poor and working-class people around the world.
“He always made [a] conscious decision to make sure that the poor were attended to sacramentally,” Rev. John Lydon, who lived with the new pope in Peru for years, said during an appearance on CNN. “And we had soup kitchens for the poor as well. So, his heart is there with the poor.”
Pope Leo could spur more Catholics in US
Leo’s selection is being widely seen as a progressive move by the Church, one that builds off Pope Francis’s legacy of catering to the poorest human beings and working-class people around the world.
It is also being seen as sign to American Catholics and across the West more generally that the Church is interested in growing its ranks in the U.S.
“You can expect him to provide moral and ethical guidelines for how an industrial society should operate,” said Joe Ferullo, CEO and publisher of the National Catholic Reporter.
Ferullo said that while less than 10 percent of the world’s Catholics live in the U.S., the selection of Leo tells American followers of the church “we haven’t forgotten you, even though the church isn’t as healthy there as it is in other parts of the world.”
Mathew Schmalz, a religious studies professor at the College of the Holy Cross, noted Leo brings “an interesting compromise, American, Latin American, European, with worldwide experience.”
“He will focus on peace, dialogue and encouragement,” Schmalz predicted. “His praise of Francis is significant. I do not expect him to move quickly, but he will bring a geopolitical awareness to deal with the Trump administration.”
Alex Gangitano contributed.
