I met the man who would become Pope Leo XIV in October 2023. We were standing outside the Vatican’s Synod Hall, and from my short conversation with Cardinal Robert Prevost, I could tell he was a good listener,

Pope Leo XIV, the first person from the United States to lead the Catholic Church, is taking on a financial headache in his new position. White smoke billowed from the Vatican at about 6 p.m. on Thursday as the papal conclave made its decision about who should become the leader of the Catholic Church.

ROME — The new Chicago-raised Pope Leo XIV faces an immediate challenge in his native country: taming the brawling U.S. tribe of Catholics, riven by political divisions that have thwarted the will of his predecessors.