First American pope elected; Trump reacts

Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Chicago native, has been elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church, becoming the first American pope since the church was founded by Jesus Christ roughly 2,000 years ago. 

Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, addressed the crowd at St. Peter’s Square shortly after white smoke alerted Catholics around the world that a new pope had been chosen. 

Leo’s first public words as pope were: “Peace be with you all.”

President Donald Trump quickly congratulated the new pope on his social media platform Truth Social, writing, “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. 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!”

Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, also congratulated Pope Leo on his new role.

“Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election!” Vance wrote on X, “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!” 

Pope Leo was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. According to Turning Point Action, Leo is a registered Republican who has voted in GOP primaries when not living abroad. 

Like all Catholics, Leo is against abortion and has been vocal in his support for the unborn. 

"We cannot build a just society if we discard the weakest—whether the child in the womb or the elderly in their frailty—for they are both gifts from God,” Leo said when he was a Cardinal.

Catholics believe each pope is the direct successor of St Peter, who Jesus appointed leader of the Apostles. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus declares: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.”

Pope Leo fills the shoes of Pope Francis, who passed away last month at the age of 88.