Pope Leo XIV live: First American pontiff takes Catholic Church helm amid increasing global turmoil

Former classmates of Robert Prevost shared how, even as a boy, he was “destined” to become Pope Leo XIV.

Born in Chicago in 1955, Prevost grew up in the city’s south suburb, where he lived in Dolton with his parents and two brothers.

Growing up, the youngster reportedly had a positive experience of parish life, serving as an altar boy and attending school in the St. Mary of the Assumption parish on the far South Side.

“It was pretty apparent back then that was going to be his route,” former classmate John Doughney told the Chicago Sun-Times, speaking before Prevost was elected.

“For him, I think it was a true calling,” Doughney said. “And, even as a young teenager, he knew what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go.”

Others recalled a “sense of humor” in class.

“He was kind of a little trickster, too,” Joseph Merigold, who used to sit near Prevost in class, said. “Used to poke me in the back of the head with a pencil all the time because I was a kidder. So he definitely had a sense of humor that a lot of people wouldn’t know because he wasn’t really that outgoing.”

Merigold said Prevost was “the smartest person in the class.”

Prevost was also remembered as a good singer from the choir who “cared about people” and “looked for the good in things,” according to Marianne Angarola, who also grew up in Dolton and went to school with him.

“He was the pride and joy of every priest and nun in that school,” Angarola told The Chicago Tribune. “Everybody knew he was special.”

French President Emmanuel Macron called the election of the new pope a “historic moment” for the church, hoping that his time leading the world’s Catholics would be one of “peace and hope.”

According to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, Pope Leo XIV will celebrate his first Mass as pontiff on Friday, kicking off a busy few days.

Pope Leo XIV’s brother advised him against adopting the name “Leo” should he be elected pontiff.

On the eve of the conclave, John Prevost told his brother that “it shouldn’t be Leo because it will be the 13th,” he told the Daily Herald.

“He said, ‘What should my name be?’” Prevost recalled. “But he must’ve done some research to see it’s actually the 14th.”

After the traditional announcement of “Habemus Papam” – “We have a pope” – from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the new pontiff’s baptismal name was revealed, followed by the all-important papal name, laden with symbolic meaning.

The last pope to choose the name Leo was more than 100 years ago. Pope Leo XIII led the Church from 1878 to 1903. The first pope of the name, Pope Leo the Great, led the church from 440-461.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered her congratulations to Pope Leo XIV on X: “I extend my most sincere wishes to Pope Leo XIV for the beginning of his pontificate.

“In a time marked by conflicts and anxieties, his words from the Loggia delle Benedizioni are a powerful call to peace, brotherhood and responsibility.

“A spiritual legacy that is gathered in the furrow traced by Pope Francis, and that Italy looks at with respect and hope.”

In his first remarks as Pope Leo XIV, Chicago’s Robert Francis Prevost prayed for peace.

Former President Bill Clinton hailed Pope Leo XIV’s election as “a historic moment” in a post on X this evening.

It didn’t take long for right-wing media figures and MAGA provocateurs to cry out in rage over the election of Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV after it was revealed that he’d publicly criticized Vice President JD Vance and expressed sympathy for immigrants and George Floyd.

Despite feeling national pride over the fact that the Chicago-born Prevost has become the first American pope in history, conservative pundits and Trump loyalists fumed over the “WOKE MARXIST POPE” and complained that he is “worse than Francis,” referencing the previous pontiff known for his progressive values.

Justin Baragona reports on what our US readers likely knew was coming.