Pope Leo XIV met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican to discuss church-state collaboration, religious freedom, and global conflicts, following his inaugural Mass.
Pope Leo XIV met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican to discuss church-state collaboration, religious freedom, and global conflicts, following his inaugural Mass.
Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, is a native of Chicago who spent the first third of his life in the United States before his ministry took him to Peru and, more recently, to Rome. There, he served as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, advising Pope Francis on episcopal appointments around the globe.
Both Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV on May 18, the vice president’s office said.
Augustinian Father Robert Hagan said that fellow order member Pope Leo XIV has “always been a brother to us” — one who encouraged him from his early days to his own leadership role in the order.
Days before he was elected, Pope Leo XIV (then Cardinal Robert F. Prevost) received a ringing endorsement from a Catholic school teacher in New Jersey – one the pope-to-be apparently read just hours before entering the conclave at which he would be chosen.
On the second day of the conclave, after white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, Americans in Rome reacted with shock, delight and questions at the realization that the new pope – Pope Leo XIV – was a fellow American.
The Midwest Augustinians celebrate the election of Pope Leo XIV — the first Augustinian and first American pope — calling him a bridge-builder rooted in St. Augustine’s spirit and a true companion to the marginalized.
Hours after Pope Leo XIV presented himself to the world for the first time, the American bishops offered prayers to the new pontiff, and said that they “rejoice that a son of this nation has been chosen by the cardinals.”
Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, was elected the 267th pope May 8 and took the name Pope Leo XIV.
Following the passing of Pope Francis, interest in the 2024 film Conclave has soared, with a reported viewership spike of over 250% in the 24 hours after his death, according to data analytics firm Luminate.