VATICAN CITY (RNS) — In a shocking vote that caught the Catholic world by surprise, the College of Cardinals elected Robert Francis Prevost, 69, the 267th pope on Thursday (May 8). He is the first United States citizen to become the bishop of Rome.
The Chicago-born Prevost has chosen to take the name Pope Leo XIV, signaling a kinship with the 19th-century Pope Leo XIII, who was known for opening the doors of the church to the world and made Catholic social teaching a central issue during his pontificate.
As he walked out of the loggia onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to greet the cheering crowd in the square below, the new pope said, “Peace be with you all!” Remembering the Easter season being celebrated in the church, he added, “I would like this greeting of peace to reach all people, in the entire world.”
At his mention of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died April 21, the crowd roared, and the new pope reminded them: “We are all in the hands of God. Hence, without fear, united hand in hand with God and with each other, we go forward. We are disciples of Christ. Christ precedes us!”
Corinne Bernhard, a Chicagoan who was in the crowd, said “it …