From Conclave to Global Stage: What to Expect from the New Pontiff

On May 8th, after a one-day conclave in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, the new Pope, Leo XIV, the first American to hold this office, was announced to the waiting masses in Rome and the entire world watching online.

Who is the man whom the 135 cardinals elected pope in secret, centuries-old procedures? This question has long since ceased to be a matter of concern only to Catholics. Since the Second Vatican Council, which ended in 1965, the papacy has defined its mission as advocating for human rights in general and religious freedom in particular. John Paul II's resounding "no" to the Iraq war resonated just as powerfully as Pope Francis's call for peace in Gaza and Ukraine. Its commitment to interfaith dialogue and its dedication to the preservation of creation are further characteristics of the contemporary papacy. Here, too, Catholics and others expect the new man in the Vatican to continue to consider these issues as his own.

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