There were lots of hopefuls in the Conclave. My personal favorite was the Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines. I certainly didn’t have a Cardinal from Chicago/Peru on my radar at all. Robert Francis Prevost was chosen by the College of Cardinals as the 267th Pope, and he will go by Leo XIV. The new Pope holds a math degree from Villanova and is an Augustinian.

Most of his career was spent as a missionary, so he knows how to be among the people, like Pope Francis. It will be interesting to see what he does and how much he will emulate Francis.

I am not a Catholic, but I hold the Catholic Church in high esteem. My hope is that he will energize the faithful and inspire them to reach out to those on the margins. God be with Leo XVI.