Pope Leo XIV waves at the people gathered in St. Peter’s Square in first public appearance as pope – Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar (CC BY-SA 4.0)

After a conclave of merely two days—a shock in itself—a far greater shock emerged when the white smoke billowing out into the skies over Vatican City heralded the election of the first American ever to hold the papacy.

Robert Prevost, born in Chicago, holds in his hands the keys to the kingdom of Catholics as the ‘Vicar of Christ’.

CNN, reporting on one of the least-predicted outcomes the College of Cardinals could have produced, said that the United States has long been considered too powerful: militarily, culturally, and diplomatically to be afforded the honor of leading the Catholic Church.

But Prevost, who considers himself a missionary at heart, is very much a child of the world. In fact, he was termed the “least American” of the US cardinals.

Pope Leo XIV is also a Peruvian citizen, having held the position of bishop during a 20-year stay in the South American country. Two years ago, Pope Francis appointed him to prefect for the Dicastery for Bishops at the Vatican. Speaking fluent Italian, he delivered the first speech of his papacy in the language of Rome. (Watch the speech below…)

Following the appointment, in an interview with Vatican News, Prevost, then 67, said of himself “I still consider myself a missionary—my vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is.”

Additionally, the revolutionary papal tenure of his predecessor, Pope Francis, whose acclaim and whose own words were on the new Pope’s lips within two minutes of his first speech as the leader of the Vatican, saw in Prevost the capability of leadership.

Francis “respected him and thought of him very highly,” according to CNN’s Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb. “Clearly Pope Francis saw in him something—he saw him as a capable leader.”

Multiple news outlets report that it’s expected Prevost will carry on much of Francis’ work and reforms, which were some of the most impactful in the modern history of the Church, but also controversial.

For example, in the same Vatican News interview, Prevost was asked what he thought of Francis’ decision to include three women in the Dicastery for Bishops.

“I think their appointment is more than just a gesture on the part of the Pope to say that there are now women here, too. There is a real, genuine, and meaningful participation that they offer at our meetings when we discuss the dossiers of candidates,” he replied.

The Worker’s Pope

As for his papal name, Leo, it follows from Leo XIII who was known as the “Worker’s Pope” in reference to his 1891 encyclical Rarum novarum, which outlined the rights of workers to a fair wage, safe working conditions, and the formation of trade unions, while affirming the rights to property and free enterprise.

IN MEMORY OF FRANCIS:

The Vatican described the new Leo as the first pope from the Order of Saint Augustine, for which he served two six-year terms as Prior General, the first pope from North America, the first pope born after World War II, and the first pope from an English-speaking country since Adrian IV in the 12th century.

For certain he’s the first pope to ever graduate from Villanova. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 1977 from the school founded by the Augustinians (the Order of Saint Augustine). He’s also a Chicago Cubs fan.

Approximately 5 minutes into his speech, Saint Peter’s Square fell silent as the new pope paused, and, changing from Italian to Spanish, he beamed a smile and said “and now a greeting in Spanish to the people of my Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru.”

“To all you brothers and sisters of Rome, of Italy, of the world, we want to be a sinodal church, a church that walks forward, a church that always seeks peace, a church that always seeks to be close to those who suffer,” she added, switching back to Italian.

WATCH the speech below with a translator courtesy of CBS… 

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