The First American Pope
26:13 Share

We have a new pope, and he’s from Chicago! On the second day of the papal conclave Thursday, Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV. He’s the first American citizen to hold the position, but he also spent two decades serving in Peru, before the late Pope Francis chose him for an influential post at the Vatican. Pope Leo XIV now has a very, very big job leading the world’s 1.36 billion Catholics amid major tensions within the church, between those aligned with Francis’ efforts to make the church more inclusive and those who think those efforts have undermined Catholic tradition. Christopher White, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and author of the forthcoming book ’Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy,’ tells us more about the new pope’s selection and what we can expect from his papacy.

And in headlines: President Donald Trump unveiled his first big new trade deal with… the United Kingdom, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced plans for a much-needed update to the nation’s air traffic control system, and former President Joe Biden defended his time in office during an interview with The View.

Show Notes:

• Check out Christopher's work –www.ncronline.org/authors/christopher-white)
• **Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – **https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8)
• **What A Day – YouTube – **https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast)
• **Follow us on Instagram – **https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/)
• **For a transcript of this episode, please visit **crooked.com/whataday)