Vatican Votes a New Pope As Head of Church

There is a new pope at the Vatican. It is Pope Leo XIV, the 267th pope in history. He was formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. Originally from Chicago, he becomes the first ever Pope from the United States.

That said, he was somehow considered the "least American" of the cardinals from the United States. My guess is that this has political overtones, given the politically divisive and polarizing climate in the United States at the moment. He worked for a decade in Peru, and speaks both Spanish and Italian fluently.

Some things which I learned from the CNN article about him (see link below) is that Pope Francis held him in high regards, that he is a member of the Augustine religious order, has a strong leadership history with a missionary focus, and also is a citizen of Peru.  Also, the papal name which he chose for himself reflects his commitment to helping the poor.

Obviously, I cannot claim to know much about him. There is one thing, however, which I discovered, and impressed me about him. He has a degree in mathematics from Villanova, and seems to have a healthy respect for science. That said, he seems to champion scientists taking ethics into consideration when it comes to technological advancements, in order to take human dignity into account.

Also, he seems likely to follow Pope Francis and call for serious action to be taken to address climate change.

Those things are positives in my book.

Let's wish him the best.

Below are the links to the articles used in writing this particular blog entry, and from which almost all of the specific information used was obtained:

10 things to know about Robert Prevost, who is now Pope Leo XIV by Lauren Kent, CNN  4 minute read  Published 7:56 PM EDT, Thu May 8, 2025:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/08/world/pope-leo-xiv-robert-prevost-wwk-intl-latam

The new pope, Leo XIV, has spoken out about urgent need for climate change action by Kristin Toussaint, 05-08-2025:

As a cardinal, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, was aligned with Pope Francis’s views on the environment.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91331254/the-new-pope-leo-xiv-has-spoken-out-about-urgent-need-for-climate-change-action