America's Pope. Chicago's Own.
Pope Leo Celebrates Inaugural Mass at St. Peter's as America's First Pontiff
In a historic ceremony witnessed by an estimated 300,000 faithful in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV — born Robert Francis Prevost on Chicago's South Side — celebrated his first papal Mass, delivering a homily that wove together themes of unity, mercy, and the American Catholic experience. Cardinals from six continents knelt before the altar as Chicago's own ascended to the Chair of Peter.
READ MORE →A papal homecoming to the city that shaped him is reportedly in early planning stages.
How a Chicago boy became the first American to lead the Catholic Church.
His first Angelus address drew one of the largest crowds in recent memory.
Chicago's sports franchises joined the city in celebrating their native son.
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All News →OPINION & COMMENTARY
All Op-eds →Pope Leo XIV is not just America's Pope — he is the Church's answer to a fractured world that desperately needs a shepherd who speaks its language.
— Fr. James Martin, S.J., America Magazine
What Pope Leo Means for American Catholics →The South Side of Chicago has given the world aldermen, jazz musicians, and Nobel laureates. Now it has given us a Pope. The city should never stop marveling at that.
— Chicago Tribune Editorial Board
Chicago's Greatest Export →The election of an American Pope was once unthinkable. Leo XIV has made the unthinkable not just real, but inevitable in retrospect.
— Ross Douthat, The New York Times
The Papacy Comes to America →His Augustinian formation, his years in Peru, his deep pastoral instincts — Leo XIV is a global Pope who happens to carry a Chicago ZIP code in his heart.
— Austen Ivereigh, Crux Now
A Global Pope With Chicago Roots →"On Mercy and the New Evangelization" — Homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday, October 5, 2026