The College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert Prevost, a U.S. native born and raised in Chicago, as the 267th pope of the church. And on Friday, as Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first mass, he called his election both a cross to bear and a blessing.

As America, especially the United States and Chicago celebrated the elect of an American pope, the newly elected pontiff Leo XIV, former Cardinal Robert Prevost , celebrated his first Mass at the Sistine Chapel,

Robert Prevost of the U.S. is the new Catholic pontiff, taking the name Pope Leo XIV. The Chicago-born cardinal ministered in Peru and was a member of the Augustinian order.