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This message comes from NPR sponsor CFP, certified financial planner professionals committed to acting in their clients' best interests. Learn more at letsmakeaplan.org. Today on State of the World, a new pope is elected and he has ties to the U.S. and Peru. You're listening to State of the World from NPR, the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Thursday, May 8th. I'm Greg Dixon. Habemus Papam.
The world's 1.4 billion Catholics have a new pope. The man known as Robert Prevost will now be known as Pope Leo XIV. He's an American, that's a first, raised in Chicago. He spent two decades of his service to the church in Peru. Another first, he's from the Order of St. Augustine.
We're going to hear from a member of that order who knows the Pope in a few minutes. First, the scene from the Vatican when the Pope was announced. NPR's Ruth Sherlock was there and talked to Scott Detrow about what it was like. If there's one thing the Catholic Church does well, it's these incredible spectacles of color in history. I was just standing there looking at St. Peter's Basilica, silhouetted against the fading evening light, swallows overhead, and
And all around me there were people engaging in prayer, like three ladies praying in their language from Bangladesh, Italian priests, everybody praying for the right choice of Pope. Now what that means is different to everybody. People from Bangladesh wanted somebody from Bangladesh. Others just wanted the right hope that the Holy Spirit had chosen, you know, made God's choice, if you like. And then suddenly, kind of almost out of nowhere, this...
billowing white smoke and everybody's waiting, singing, celebrations, bands in the crowd. And then as he emerges onto the balcony in St. Peter's Basilica and his name is said, in a way there was actually almost kind of a
sort of confusion because the speakers are not actually that good. People were asking themselves, sorry, who? What? What? What's going on? We're really desperate to understand. And then gradually you heard the name Prevost starting to come through the crowd. This is the first American Pope. How did people react to this news? Well, you know,
you know, excitement and also some disappointment. We are in Italy and it's been almost 50 years since an Italian Pope and Italians were among the front runners. So there was lots of actual anger around me. Some people seriously disappointed. But then I came across two American sisters in the crowd, Leila and Jenna Brown, and spoke with them. I would never have guessed in a million years this was going to happen. I'm
Really, really happy. Isn't that? It's so exciting. So you came all the way to Rome just for this? Yes. Yes, we came from Seattle. Yes, just for this and its first American Pope. I'm so happy. I'm just so thrilled. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Hopefully this brings Catholicism to America more. Ruth, you've been talking to people for several days now. What are some of the themes you have been hearing from people in and around Rome in recent days?
You know, I think the thing that struck people about Pope Francis was this decision he made, or his personality perhaps it was, to try to kind of
be with the people, to try to not let his extraordinary job kind of take him away from the more normal. So, for example, he was pretty scathing of some of the more ornate religious dress. He used to call that grandma's lace. And people like that. People like being able to connect with him on a human level. And I think that's something I heard again and again that people want from this next pope, somebody who is...
trying to reflect the needs of ordinary citizens all over the world, especially perhaps in nations where there is poverty and a lot of humanitarian suffering. Pope Francis, of course, was very outspoken, you know, looking at conflicts around the world, supporting people speaking out against humanitarian suffering, for example, in the conflict in Gaza. And I think people were hoping that maybe that
legacy is continued. Ruth, I was stuck here in our broadcast space the whole time. I didn't get out in the middle of the crowd as much as you did. Who are the kinds of people who come into St. Peter's Square at this moment to see a new pope? I mean, just incredible variety. It's amazing walking through the crowd because you hear languages from all over the world. It's such an international scene. And then you had people who had brought...
They're small children, tiny babies. I've met somebody who's had a baby who's just days old, you know, coming hoping that they would be blessed by the new Pope. Also, a French woman in a shimmering gold sequin floor-length ball gown had come to celebrate this moment.
A real variety, not just people in religious dress, priests, but also people from all over the world. That is NPR's Ruth Sherlock, our Rome correspondent, who was in the crowd in St. Peter's Square at this big moment. Thank you so much, Ruth. Thanks so much, Scott. As we said before, the new pope is the first to come from the Order of St. Augustine. Robert Prevost joined the Order in Chicago after graduating from Villanova University, an Augustinian Catholic institution.
For more on the man who is now Pope, Mary Louise Kelly spoke to someone who knew Prevost from his time in Chicago. Reverend Robert Hagen is the prior provincial of the province of St. Thomas of Villanova. That is the East Coast chapter of the Order of St. Augustine. Father Rob, welcome. Hi, Mary Louise. Thank you. So you got an American, an Augustinian, and a Villanova grad. This is like a trifecta for you in the new Pope. Yeah.
We are speechless. We really are just overjoyed. When he appeared on that balcony, it was like seeing a family member step up there. And we're just so happy, not just for him, but for the world. Because what we know Leo XIV to be, in terms of his faith, in terms of his love of the poor, in terms of his intellect...
In terms of his approachability, the person that he is is now a gift to our church and to our world. Did it strike you today as you listened to him step out onto that balcony addressing the massive crowd gathered at the Vatican that he chose to speak Italian, also Spanish, threw in some Latin today? I wonder, did that strike you as an intentional signal, hey, I may be American, but I will be pope to the world?
I think it's just who he is. I don't know that he was, you know, trying to, you know, show off how many languages he knew as much as this is just who he is. He he he is really bright. He looks for ways to connect with people through language, through culture.
through humor. And so for him to do that, I think you're right. I mean, I think it did say to the world that this is someone that we all can relate to. And he has that capacity. He has that capacity. Go back to your student days. You met the now Pope when you were a student. Can you share a memory of a specific interaction? It's
It's interesting, Mayor Louise, because he held the position that I now have. So he was the prior provincial of our Mother of Good Counsel province in Chicago. And so because I was doing my novitiate year in Racine, Wisconsin, I was technically under his jurisdiction. And so you can imagine meeting a superior when you're the newbie, you know, you're the rookie.
And you probably remember him a lot better than he remembered you. I just found someone who was welcoming, who was not condescending, who didn't kind of flaunt his title or his office.
who just wanted to know me. And we had dinner in the dining room together, and we talked about normal things like the city of Chicago and Augustine, and he wanted to know what we were studying. And he just made a point of reaching out as a friend. And as Augustinians, a core value for Augustine
is friendship. That we really can come to understand and meet the presence of God through friendship, and I think Leo XIV really embodies that, and I certainly experienced it. I did want to ask about that part of his biography, that this is a first Augustinian pope. I mean, for those who are not Catholic, just briefly explain what that would mean, how that might distinguish Leo from his predecessors.
Well, first of all, I think, you know, there are many different fraternities and sororities, if you will, within the Catholic Church. You know, Pope Francis was a Jesuit, and, you know, we know Dominicans and Franciscans. We all have a particular charism where we take inspiration from, in our case, from Augustine, who lived, you know, in the late 300s, early 400s, who was a prolific writer and preacher, and, you
And so, you know, the values of what we would be core foundational values for an Augustinian would be veritas, unitas, caritas, truth, unity, and love.
And so Leo, you know, the 14th has been formed on those foundational values. And to see him now, you know, as Leo, given what he's done in his life up to this point. Right. You know, Francis spoke a lot about synodality, to listen. Right.
In Pope Leo XIV, it's someone who is also willing to listen to the voices on the margin. Reverend Rob Hagen, head of the East Coast Chapter of the Order of St. Augustine, thank you. That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.
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