PARIS — “The American Pope,” “A lion of peace,” “Leonem XIV.”… Newspapers from the world are devoting their front pages to American Cardinal Robert Prevost who was elected the new pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church and has taken the name Pope Leo XIV.
Born Robert Prevost, in Chicago, where he’s known as “Father Bob” on the South Side, writes the Chicago Sun-Times, Pope Leo, 69, has become the first North American to be elected pontiff.
Seen as a reformer, Leo XIV worked for many years as a missionary in Peru, where the press hailed him as the “Peruvian Pope.” “Faithful in our country burst with joy when his appointment was announced,” writes Lima-based daily El Comercio. During his first speech as pope, Leo XIV said a few words in Spanish, sending a greeting to his “dear Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru.”
