Pope Leo XIV

On the afternoon of Easter Sunday last year, Pope Francis was driven through St. Peter’s Square in an open-topped Popemobile. A few weeks earlier he had nearly died from pneumonia, so pilgrims were thrilled to watch him blessing babies. They told journalists that it was a miracle to see the 88-year-old Argentinian in such good shape. At 9:45 the next morning, the Vatican announced that Francis had just died from a stroke. And so began the preparations for a conclave that elected the second pope from the Americas. Cardinal Robert Prevost – “Bob” to his friends – was a Chicago-born dual citizen of the United States and Peru. Until 2023