VATICAN CITY – The Catholic Church welcomes a new leader as Pope Leo XIV receives numerous congratulations in anticipation of celebrating his inaugural Mass on Friday. This follows his groundbreaking election as the first North American pope in the church’s two-millennia history.

On Thursday, Cardinal Robert Prevost stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, succeeding the conclave and the telltale sight of white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney, indicating the selection of a new pope. His election successfully overcame the longstanding restriction against having a pope from the United States.

Leo, a 69-year-old American born in Chicago, served as an Augustinian missionary in Peru and later led the Vatican’s influential office of bishops. Clad in the traditional red cape — which Pope Francis opted not to wear upon his election in 2013 — Pope Leo hints at a possible return to conventional papal practices following Francis’ unconventional leadership.

Leo’s first words to the crowds below — “Peace be with you” — emphasized a message of dialogue and missionary evangelization. He spoke to the crowd in Italian and Spanish, but not English.

Here is the latest:

Pope Leo XIV’s first appointments have been set

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni says:

China’s state-backed church organizations offer congratulations to the new pope

China’s official news agency Xinhua reported on Friday that the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the Bishops’ Conference of Catholic Church in China — both under the Chinese government — congratulated Leo.

The Vatican’s relations with China were severed in 1951 after the Communist Party came to power and the expulsion of foreign priests. The country’s estimated millions of Catholics were divided into the state-recognized church and an underground one that stayed loyal to Rome.

In 2018, the Vatican and China signed an accord over the thorny issue of bishop nominations, and the deal was extended in 2024 even though Rome previously acknowledged that it was far from ideal.

The Holy See’s outreach to China under late Pope Francis has drawn criticism, especially from American conservatives who have accused the Vatican of selling out the faithful who have been forced underground. Hong Kong’s outspoken Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen also criticized the deal.

Filipinos welcome the first-ever American pontiff

The Philippines is the largest Roman Catholic nation in Asia and there were hopes the late Pope Francis would be succeeded by a prominent Filipino Cardinal, Luis Antonio Tagle, from the laidback city of Imus just south of Manila.

Still, Leo’s election was welcomed and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he prays that the new pope would “continue to bring the church closer to the poor and disadvantaged.”

“I wanted the candidate from the Philippines … but let’s accept this choice because this was God’s plan,” Alexandra Bonilla, a 20-year-old student, said at a cathedral in Imus.

Australia’s prime minister says Pope Leo’s leadership comes at an ‘important time’

Anthony Albanese said on Friday that he will invite the new pope to the 54th International Eucharistic Congress, a gathering of Roman Catholic clergy and lay people, in Sydney in 2028.

“As the first North American Pope, Pope Leo XIV’s leadership comes at an important time for the Catholic Church and for the world,” Albanese, a Catholic, told reporters in the Australian capital Canberra.

What is a core value for Augustinian priests?

A religious order is a community of Catholics — which can include priests, nuns, monks and even lay people — dedicated to a particular type of mission and spirituality. A core value for the Order of St. Augustine that the new pope belongs to is to “live together in harmony, being of one mind and one heart on the way to God.”

Pope Francis was the first pope from the Jesuit religious order ever, and the first in more than a century and a half to come from any religious order. The previous one was Gregory XVI (1831-1846), a Camaldolese monk. In all, 34 of the 266 popes have belonged to religious orders — and six of them before Leo XIV were Augustinians, according to America, a Jesuit magazine.

The idea of a US pontiff was taboo. Prevost overcame it

Pope Francis brought Prevost to the Vatican in 2023 to lead the office that vets bishop nominations, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church.

Prevost kept a low public profile in Rome, but was well known to the men who count. Significantly, he presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms Francis made, when he added three women to the voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to forward to the pope. In early 2025, Francis again showed his esteem by appointing Prevost to the most senior rank of cardinals.

Back in Prevost’s old diocese in Chiclayo, Peru, the Rev. Fidel Purisaca Vigil said Prevost would have breakfast with his fellow priests after saying his prayers each day. “No matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humor and joy,” Purisaca said in an email.

▶ Read more about Robert Prevost’s background