Leo XIV

There is a new pope, as you probably know already, elected yesterday on the fourth ballot of the conclave, Leo XIV is the 267th pontiff and he comes from the United States. The new head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State is 69 years old.

There is extensive information coming out about the Holy Father, so need for me to write a biography here. Anyone can easily check the constant news accounts and his Wikipedia entry.

In addition to speaking English, he also speaks Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese along with some German. The new Pope can also read Latin. It seems like we will have an easy time understanding him.

His inauguration Mass will be held on May 18 in Saint Peter's Square. We will see him a lot before than as he performs numerous official duties. We will also be paying attention to his personal views on Church policy and on social and political issues.

Pope Leo is the first pope in my lifetime to be younger than me. He appears to be in very good health and be a long-serving Pope.  My hope is that he brings a lot of good and that I can comfortably write about him often.