AUGUSTA, Ga. () – On Thursday morning, white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel, indicating the election of a new pope for the Catholic Church.

Robert Prevost, the newly named successor to Pope Francis, was born in Chicago making him the first American Pope in history.

Jaques Fabre-Jeune, a bishop from Charleston, believes that the newly appointed pope chose the name Leo XIV in homage to Leo XIII, who was noted for his emphasis on the church’s social teachings.

Bishop Fabre-Jeune mentioned, “Through the church’s social doctrine and the gospel, Leo XIII was able to engage with the wider world, especially in addressing contemporary challenges, such as advocating for workers’ rights.”

Joseph Le Vert is a religion philosophy and horticulture teacher at Aquinas High School and tells me he and his students watched as the new pope was announced.

“Everybody was curious so, I have a big screen attached in my room and so we went live to Rome and sat there and waited and watched the bands march in and then the various representatives of the military and then out he comes!” Le Vert said.

With approximately 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, Le Vert says being the Pope is a massive role to fill.

“He has to take the wants, needs and desires of each one of those countries, cultures and so forth as well as, or most importantly, how are we to respond to the call of Christ in this day and age and that’s not easy.” said Le Vert.

Le Vert says he is happy with the choice and looks forward to seeing what the pope will do in the future.