The conclave elects Pope Leo XIV as the first American pope

When Pope Francis died in April 2025, the conclave, the gathering of the College of Cardinals to elect a new Pope, began. They elected dual American and Peruvian citizen Robert Prevost as the new head of the Catholic Church. He is the first United States citizen in history to become Pope. 

Prevost chose the name Leo, one that holds great importance in the Roman Catholic Church, becoming Pope Leo XIV. He was inspired by Pope Leo XIII, who advocated for workers during the Industrial Revolution in the mid-18th century. The name symbolizes unity within the church, as well as religious devotion. In his speech at St. Basilica after being selected, he gave a message of peace in Latin, Spanish, and Italian.

San Marin High School junior William Lopez Ross believes that it is extremely impactful that the conclave selected an American.

“He’s very close to how Francis was beforehand, more of a liberal pope,” Lopez Ross said. “I think the fact that he’s American, which was kind of out of left field, but it’s really important because it brings back that American Catholic crowd since forever felt very distant from the church in Europe.”

Because of social media, political and religious leaders’ personal beliefs are shared more to the public than ever before. In February 2025, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a devout Catholic, stated “Christians can prioritize love for family, then neighbors, their community, fellow citizens and, lastly, the world.” In response to Vance, Leo XIV shared an article on the social media outlet X with the headline “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”  Through social media, Leo XlV has given glimpses into his personal opinions on American politics, disagreeing with U.S. President Donald Trump’s conservative immigration plan by sharing articles on X. 

Students around San Marin, regardless of their religious affiliation, have followed Pope Leo XlV’s journey through current events and social media.

“He’s giving more input in US politics and [international politics], especially just telling everyone to kind of calm down,” Lopez Ross said. “I like him pushing back against Trump’s crackdown on immigration. Pushing against the same things the popes have been doing for a while like pollution and crime…telling people just to help each other more.”

Leo XlV spent a large portion of his life living in Peru as a missionary, pastor, educator, and bishop. He has emphasized his support for helping migrant families. Before Hope Border Institute is a non-profit organization that applies Catholic social teaching to address justice and humanitarian issues involving the U.S.-Mexico border. Founder Dylan Corbett showed Leo XlV media coverage of immigrants’ experiences with mass deportation in the U.S.

“He watched the whole thing, and his eyes at the end were filled with tears as he watched it,” Corbett said in an interview with POLITICO  following a meeting with similar groups. “As the meeting came to an end he said, ‘You stand with me and I stand with you, and the church will continue to accompany and stand with migrants.’”

Junior Elizabeth Contreras has grown up in a Catholic family and has gone to church her entire life, however she doesn’t consider herself to be Catholic. She feels that religion is overly used in politics.

“I think the biggest challenge [the Catholic Church] faces is people like Trump using the Bible and religion as an excuse to do things that they shouldn’t do,” Contreras said. “I think people have been using religion as an excuse to do unjust things and have been for a while.”

Praised and criticized for being a more modern pope, students all over the world will watch as Pope Leo XlV leads the Catholic Church into a chapter of communication.