After less than 24 hours of seclusion in the Vatican, cardinals ended the 2025 papal conclave with the election of a new pontiff. The man chosen, Cardinal Robert Prevost, will be known as Pope Leo XIV — the first pope ever from the United States.

How Pope Leo XIV chooses to tackle critical topics from same-sex marriage to women in the church remains to be seen, but those who know him say he’ll likely continue his predecessor’s path in his own image.