During a Mass for cardinals, Scripture was read in both English and Spanish — a nod to the new pope's missionary work in both the United States and Peru.
The challenges for the Catholic Church in Chicago, where Robert Prevost grew up, are a microcosm of the gargantuan problems facing the worldwide Catholic Church that the new Pope Leo XIV must address.
As the bells of St. Peter's Basilica tolled, signaling the election of a new pope, American Catholics gathered in Rome expressed both surprise and hope for the future of the church.
The new pontiff is former Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, a Chicago-born Augustinian friar who previously headed the influential Vatican Dicastery for Bishops.
Pope Francis invited all Catholics to the table in deliberating the future of the church. Sisters involved in those synods believe there's no turning back — even with a new pope.
