As a Chicagoan who teaches at Villanova University, it was surreal for me to watch the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV last Thursday. The new pontiff grew up in Chicago and graduated from Villanova,

Born in the U.S., forged in Peru, chosen in Rome, Leo XIV will helm a church facing debt, division and decline

Pope Leo XIV gave a homily at a Mass a day after he was chosen to lead the Catholic Church. Here's what the new pontiff said, and what he's up to in the coming days.

Live updates and latest news as the first North American pope steps into his role as the new leader of the Catholic Church.

Pope Leo XIV is now the most powerful American Catholic in the world, and experts say he must aptly walk the line between U.S. politics and his papal duties.

White smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney in Vatican City Thursday as the world gathered to watch a new pope take the helm of the Roman Catholic Church. The man who emerged was a surprise to many and a historical first for the faith: Pope Leo XIV will be the first American pope.

White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the great bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang out on Thursday, signaling that a new pope—the 267th leader of the Catholic Church—had been chosen on the second day of the conclave.

His election reflects a Church that is not shrinking but expanding — a Church alive in every corner of the world, including right here in the U.S.

The Chicago-born pontiff is the first American to lead the Catholic Church, and while his positions on some of the church’s hot-button issues remain unclear, he has signaled continuity with his predecessor, who challenged norms, embraced migrants and the poor, and sought to build an inclusive church.

I don’t think he is going to go, pull the church hard left,” Prevost also said. “I think he’s going to be down the middle.”

Amid the mostly joyous reception for Robert Prevost, who stunned the world when he emerged from the loggia of St. Peter’s as Pope Leo XIV, one cloud on his reputation came from groups alleging that he had mishandled sexual abuse cases.

Leo XIV vows to work for peace in regions with eastern-rite churches. VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV vowed Wednesday to take “every effort” to work for peace in the Middle East