White smoke rose above the Vatican Thursday last week, a signal that Catholics around the world recognized as the end of the conclave to elect a new pope as a successor to the late Pope Francis.
Not long after, the Vatican announced to eagerly-awaiting crowds that Cardinal Robert Prevost — now Pope Leo XIV — was chosen to lead the church.
The announcement of any new pope is a big deal in its own right, but the selection of Cardinal Prevost is even more monumental given that he is the first American to be elected pope — and just the second born in the Western hemisphere, following his successor Pope Francis who was born in Argentina.
Chosen to be a cardinal in late 2023 by Pope Francis himself and officially assuming the role in 2024, some speculate that the new pope will continue to steer the church in a similar direction as Pope Francis.
Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago and attended Villanova University, graduating with a degree in mathematics. At 69 years of age, he is roughly seven years younger than Pope Francis was when he was called to lead the church.
Chicago — including both of its professional baseball teams — has been quick to claim the new pope, though it seems the White Sox have a true claim to Pope Leo XIV’s fandom.
Although born in Chicago, Pope Leo XIV has reportedly spent a significant amount of his adult life in Peru as a missionary — so much so that he holds citizenship there.
The pope himself acknowledged his former Peruvian diocese — a territory which a bishop oversees — in his first speech as pope.
Today, he holds citizenship as a citizen of the world’s smallest country, Vatican City, as its most public-facing figure for the foreseeable future. Citizens of the world look towards his past to get a better understanding of him.
Many celebrated the seemingly unlikely election of an American pope — a sign of the church’s influence reaching further.
And as if right on cue, the polarized country took to social media to cast their judgments on where the new Pope falls on the political spectrum.
Some pointed out the former cardinal responded to a tweet from Vice President J.D. Vance, sharing an article that claimed Vance misunderstood certain teachings and was using them out of context. The validity of that account belonging and being managed by the Pope is unconfirmed but believed to be true.
Others used public voting records to allegedly find the new Pope registered — having voted consistently in Republican primaries over the last couple of decades, as well as having voted in general elections, though no record on which candidates.
There are plenty of reasons to look into the new head of the Catholic church and try to understand his track record; moreover, depending on one’s view of certain issues, there are plenty of issues to be skeptical about.
And at a time when America finds itself at a cultural crossroads, it seems almost impossible to believe the Pope won’t have a heavier weigh-in on issues pertaining to the world. He very well may, directly or indirectly, be opposed to or in favor of relevant policies happening around the world and in his home country.
The Pope isn’t supposed to be the litmus test for your politics, though, whether it was Pope Francis or Leo or anyone else. Granted, it probably isn’t a great look if one of the holiest public faces in the world, leading a religion of over 2 billion people, is at odds with you or your policies. Moreover, there are times when being apolitical on a topic is not an option.
But the Pope is elected to lead the church, regardless of his origin. While the separation of church and state may have had a different intention when written, it can be aptly applied to this critical moment in time when, already, social media engagement farmers are looking to use the Pope’s opinions as justifications for one cause or another. This line of reasoning will ultimately lead to further polarization not just within the country but within a major religion, too.
The Pope, while the leader of the church, is only a man — just like his predecessors before him. We can certainly hope his period as pontiff will be marked by grace, humility, righteousness and all the other qualities that people generally agree are desired in leaders. But just as the vice president alluded to in recent comments to Politico, the reality is that the Pope will have opinions that people agree with, along with opinions that they don’t. Above all else, the role of the Pope is fundamentally separate from the role of governing bodies specific to the United States.
Pope Leo XIV has already been under a microscope, with any and all of his posts, comments, and likes across social media being studied to predict what kind of Pope he might be. Perhaps this is a mark of our times, with future popes who are elected from a cardinal conclave secluded from the rest of the world during the election process only to have to pass an even greater test after they are chosen: the online public cross-examination.
Does it have to be a bad thing? Not necessarily; the internet digging up footage from the 2005 World Series with then-Father Prevost in attendance is one of those moments that reminds us of the power of the internet and the best parts about it. Moreover, the moment itself — seeing the worldly leader of the Catholic church doing something so simple and relatable to other Americans and world citizens alike — is a great reminder of the humanity of the Pope.
Undoubtedly, Pope Leo XIV has the potential to have an unprecedented impact on American Catholicism. Aside from being the first native English-speaking Pope, American issues that may be less understood by other Popes will likely be understood with greater depth by Pope Leo XIV. Already, he’s spoken about a topic that has been having global implications, especially across the U.S., where data centers and software companies have felt a massive shift in the industry.
In his first address to cardinals, the new Pope pointed to artificial intelligence as one of the most pressing concerns today due to the magnitude of impact it can have on workers and industries across the board, along with magnifying misinformation, undermining the credibility of photo and video and intellectual property, as reported by NBC.
Will he weigh in more heavily into American politics at a time when the ends of the political spectrum seem to be marching further away from one another? Should he? Time will tell, but one thing is for certain: his election as the first American-born Pope is already making history, and he’s just getting started.
This is an important event in recent days. Everything is decided when the white smoke appears.