An American Pope - they said it couldn't be done

It was not a "No Burn" day at the Vatican as white smoke headed toward the heavens

May 08, 2025

For years I've been told by those who follow these things closely that there'll never be an American selected as pope in my lifetime.

Well, I'm still alive and we now have a pope who is indeed an American.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is now Pope Leo XIV.

There have been 17 popes since 1776 that came from countries other than ours, but now the streak is broken.

Yes, the new pope did speak only Italian and Spanish and not English when he first addressed the masses after his selection, and he has spent a good deal of his life both in Peru and in Rome, but he was born in Chicago and educated at Villanova University in Philadelphia.

But ultimately and obviously, the pope represents the universal Church, not his country of origin.

John Paul II was no longer Polish. Benedict XVI was no longer German. Francis was no longer Argentinian.

But it is good to know that we now have a pope who actually knows the proper cheese to put on a Philly Cheesesteak.

I will miss Pope Francis, who did not walk gingerly when it came to world affairs.

Not long before his death he sent a "Letter of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops of the United States of America."

In it he wrote, "I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations. The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality. The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness."

Added Pope Francis, "This is not a minor issue. An authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized. The true common good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all, welcomes, protects, promotes and integrates the most fragile, unprotected and vulnerable. I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church and all men and women of goodwill, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters."

Early this morning, several hours before white smoke was visible at the Vatican, I was a guest on The Catholic Channel on Sirius XM as the host and I had a lighthearted conversation about what the day to day life of a Pope must be like.

Although the 133 cardinals in the Conclave were not required to select one of their own as pope, I jokingly dismissed my own chances of being selected when I doubted that the Holy Spirit was whispering the name "Robert" in the Cardinals' ears as the voting was about to take place.

But yes, lo and behold, "Robert" was indeed the first name that emerged when all was said and done.

Thank God his last name was Prevost and not Dunning. Better him than me.

As with any papal selection, there is a honeymoon period of about 15 seconds and then the worldwide media exposes every detail of his entire life, head to toe, from birth to the present moment.

I was struck by his desire to be known as Pope Leo XIV, following in the long ago footsteps of Pope Leo XIII, who in 1891 penned "Rerum Novarum," a powerful encyclical that is still quoted widely today and one whose words I treasure.

A few weeks ago, J.D. Vance, trying to redefine Catholic social teaching, said "You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens. And then, after that, you can focus on and prioritize the rest of the world."

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, not yet Pope Leo XIV, was quick to respond.

"J.D. Vance is wrong," he wrote. "Jesus does not ask us to rank our love for others."

Welcome the stranger.

Welcome Pope Leo XIV.