Follow live updates on Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff. Months before Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became the first American pope, a social media account under his name expressed criticism of Vice President JD Vance, sharing an article that called the vice president’s interpretation of Christian doctrine “wrong.” The piece, published in The National…
John Prevost knew there was a chance his brother could be elected pope. “Last Saturday when I was at church, one of the priests came over and told me the odds in Las Vegas were 18 to 1,” said Mr. Prevost, who lives in suburban Chicago. “He didn’t have a doubt. He thought it would…
In retrospect, Pope Leo XIV had it all going for him. The new pope, whose election on the second day of the conclave stunned the Roman Catholic world, seemed to be from two places at once. He was born and educated in the United States, a country vital to the church’s finances. But he was…
What’s in a name? A lot it turns out. Matteo Bruni, a Vatican spokesman, told reporters on Thursday that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost’s choice to be called Pope Leo XIV had been a clear and deliberate reference to the last Leo, who led during a difficult time for the Roman Catholic Church and helped marshal…
The election of a Chicago-born cardinal as the first American pope on Thursday astonished Catholics and non-Catholics alike across the United States. Some felt a burst of patriotic pride that a 2,000-year-old institution had chosen its new leader, Leo XIV, from a country that is about to celebrate its 250th birthday. Others hoped that an…
Robert Francis Prevost was elected on Thursday by 133 cardinals to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. The first pope from the United States, he chose the name Leo XIV. Here’s what to know about the new pope, how he was chosen and the issues he will face as the successor to Pope Francis,…