The First American-Born Pope Is Elected
(WAVE) – Chicago-born cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been elected by the members of the papal conclave as the new pope. Pope Leo XIV is the first American to be elected as pope.
Archbishop Shelton Fabre with the Archdiocese of Louisville said it was a historic day for the church in the United States. Fabre admitted, though, he never thought he’d see an American become pope.
“There’s so many opinions about Americans across the world and I didn’t know how that would factor into what the cardinals would think about electing an American pope, someone from the United States,” he mentioned. “I knew that it was possible, but I just didn’t think that it would happen in my lifetime.”
Pope Leo XIV spent much of his ministry in Peru and then went to Rome to serve as head of the dicastery of bishops, which means he was responsible for suggesting to Pope Francis the names of men who might become bishops around the world. Archbishop Fabre said the fact Pope Leo XIV was elected on just the fourth vote means there was unity among the cardinals.