I met the man who would become Pope Leo XIV in October 2023. We were standing outside the Vatican’s Synod Hall, and from my short conversation with Cardinal Robert Prevost, I could tell he was a good listener,

Robert Prevost, a missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and leads the Vatican's powerful office of bishops, was elected the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

For the first time, an American will lead the Catholic Church. On Thursday, the Vatican revealed that Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected by the papal conclave. He soon after addressed a jubilant crowd at St. Peter's Square by his new adopted name: Pope Leo XIV.