CHICAGO – A new book suggests Chicago-born Richard Prevost may have been reluctant at first to take on the weighty responsibility of becoming Pope Leo XIV.
What we know:
In one passage, Prevost, upon realizing he is about to cross the threshold to receive the nomination, puts his head in his hands. A fellow cardinal notices his distress and offers him a piece of candy he had smuggled into the Vatican.
“Pope Leo XIV” traces Prevost’s path from Chicago to Chiclayo, Peru, and eventually to the upper echelons of power in the Vatican. The book offers a rare glimpse into the secretive conclave process, where cardinals confer and cast secret ballots to select the new leader of the Catholic Church.
The book’s author, longtime national Catholic reporter Christopher White, also touches on Leo’s roots in Dolton and how Prevost always considered Chicago’s South Side a home base that he would return to many times in his life.
To learn more about the book, follow this link.