Vatican elects first American Pope, following South American Jesuit legacy
Just one month after the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, passed away at the age of 88 after 12 years of service, the Papal Conclave concluded with the election of the first-ever United States-born pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost, who assumed the name Pope Leo XIV. The new pontiff, who is of Haitian and Creole ancestry, will become the 267th leader of the Roman Catholic Church, according to AL.com and NPR reports. According to usccb.org, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Papal Conclave is a secret assembly of cardinals that cast ballots to elect a new pope.…