Pope Leo XIV is officially the first American cardinal to be elected Bishop of Rome. Here's what Idahoans are saying about the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
"I have been Catholic for ten years, and I'm super excited about having American pope. And I think it's great that they were able to come to a decision quickly and that they were cohesive," said Jana Fredrickson, a Boise resident of nearly two decades.
Fredrickson said she is excited for the new pope since he’s considered a centrist, "and that's good for unity, which I think is very needed.”
Deacon Scott Pearhill, the director of communications for the Boise Diocese said in the first papal address, the Pope mentioned several times a theme of unity and continuing the work of Pope Francis – which means working in synodality.
“Synodality means that we work together. We're on the same path together. We're all working arm in arm for the same mission. And that mission is to help those who suffer, those who are in pain, those who are poor, to build bridges to welcome our neighbor with open arms,” Pearhill said.
Christopher Wilson, a young scholar at St. Joseph’s Catholic school in Boise, shared his take on the pontiff.
“I'm really excited for our new pope. It's pretty crazy how it just came out of the blue. I'm really happy about it,” Wilson said.
Pope Leo XIV grew up in Chicago, was a missionary for two decades in Peru and helped manage and appoint bishops across the world. He is the first pope of the Augustinian Order.
Sofia Blenkinsop co-produced this story.
