He had the good papal housekeeping seal of approval from Pope Francis, his predecessor, who put him in one of the top jobs in the Catholic Church. There, as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, he led the office that helped Francis choose bishops and, thus, determine the future of the church.

P olitical figures around the world have congratulated Robert Francis Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, after his election on Thursday, May 8, as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Hailing from Chicago and a dual U.S.-Peru national, Prevost is the first North American Pope and second from the Americas, after his late predecessor Francis.