Free Republic

Why pick the first American Pope now? Robert Prevost was made Pope Leo XIV as a counterweight to President Trump. There’s been little ambiguity about the new pope’s politics and less about the overall agenda. Pope Francis had all but rigged the process to assure another radical successor.

Catholics, habemus papam! White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel early in the evening, and now Catholics have their pope: Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago, the first American pope, though he's also a Peruvian citizen. He takes the name Pope Leo XIV. The decision took around 24 hours and saw Prevost's election on the fourth vote. Some background on Pope Leo XIV: Born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, Prevost entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) in 1977 and made his solemn vows in 1981 ... His career in the Church has been marked...

A new pope has been named, and for Villanova University and Philadelphia, the pope might be a familiar face and name. Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, is a class of 1977 Villanova University graduate, earning his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. The new pope, a 69-year-old Augustinian friar, was one of the 21 new cardinals selected by Pope Francis. According to Villanova University, Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago, Illinois, and joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977. Following his undergraduate studies at Villanova, Pope Leo XIV earned a Master of Divinity degree...

Vatican City — Of the 266 popes who have led the Catholic Church, not one of them had been from the United States. Until Thursday. The cardinal electors gathered for the papal conclave elected an American from among their own ranks on Thursday to serve as the new pontiff. Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected and accepted his fate as the next Bishop of Rome, leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. He chose Leo XIV as his papal name. While the relative youth of the nation, fewer than 20 of the church's previous popes had served after the U.S....

White smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday, signaling that a pope has been elected to lead the Catholic Church. That means the winner secured at least 89 votes of the 133 cardinals participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers.

[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Pope Francis reportedly set to ask Bishop Strickland to resignBishop Strickland has been widely praised by faithful Catholics for his promotion of traditional Catholic teaching.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis met with Vatican officials over the weekend to discuss asking Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, to resign, according to a report on Monday by The Pillar.Pope Francis met on Saturday with Archbishop Robert Prevost, OSA, the head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops, and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.The Pillar reported that several sources close to the dicastery told the outlet ahead...

... Among the men who will determine whether the Catholic church will continue in the direction of pastoral service for all modeled by Francis, the first pope from South America — or whether it will swing back to a conservative interpretation focusing on church authority — are three influential American bishops tied to Chicago. Cardinal Blase Cupich, 75, was appointed archbishop of Chicago in 2014 by Francis and remains in the pope’s inner circle. Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, has served as Francis’ powerful bishopmaker at the Vatican since 2023, after stints leading the Order of Augustine’s Midwest ministry...

[Catholic Caucus] Tagle, Parolin and now Prevost, all Bergoglians too tainted by their record to be PopePrevost does not deny accusations of cover-up and regrets that information from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has been publishedRome. Yesterday afternoon, while the eyes of the entire Church are focused on the upcoming conclave, InfoVaticana had an unexpected meeting with Cardinal Robert Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and widely considered one of the leading candidates to succeed Francis.The Cardinal criticized InfoVaticana for publishing the full report detailing the serious accusations of cover-up of sexual abuse during his time...

THIS IS THE NEW POPE! His name is Robert Prevost. He’s the first American Pope.He is anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, pro-open Borders, and a total Marxist like Pope Francis.Catholics don’t have anything good to look forward to. Just another Marxist puppet in the Vatican.

WORLD — With the announcement of the election of Pope Leo XIV, Catholics around the globe were reportedly frantically googling the new pontiff to find out if he's Catholic. Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, originally from Chicago, Illinois, became the first American to be selected to serve as Pope, leading devout members of the church to quickly look up his background to find out if he was also the first Catholic to serve in the position in over a decade. "It'll be a great chance of pace if he is," said lifelong Catholic Dave Battaglia. "Throwing in some variety every now...

An American Pope Leo 14th

New Pope Elected.

White smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney on Thursday, signaling that a new pope has been elected. The decision came as 133 cardinals gathered for a historic conclave at the Vatican. A two-thirds majority — at least 89 votes — was required to elect the new pope. The identity of the new pope has not yet been revealed, but he is expected to appear soon on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to offer his first blessing to the faithful gathered in the square.

White smoke has risen above the Sistine Chapel, the signal that cardinals have chosen a new pope on the second day of the conclave.

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Now for the first time in history a man of faith and a man of science are teaming up to search for Jesus' DNA. Using the latest advances in DNA technology Oxford University geneticist George Busby and biblical scholar Pastor Joe Basile are investigating the world's most famous holy relics including the Shroud of Turin, The Sudarium of Oviedo and the newly discovered bones of Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist. Their journey takes them to holy sites around the world from Spain and Italy to Israel and the shores of the Black Sea. By extracting and analyzing samples of each...

Vice President JD Vance met with Pope Francis at the pontiff’s residence in Rome on Sunday, the Vatican said, in a previously unannounced visit during Easter celebrations.The Vatican said the meeting was a “brief” exchange of Easter wishes that lasted “a few minutes.” In a photograph released by the Vatican, the pope is seated in a wheelchair opposite Mr. Vance as the pair talk.The meeting came after the pope criticized the Trump administration’s deportation policies and urged Catholics to reject anti-immigrant narratives, in an unusually direct attack on the American government.The rebuke came in the form of an open letter...

I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2020/documents/papa-francesco_20200327_omelia-epidemia.html

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has died...

I think we don’t really realize what’s happening. When British PM Keir Starmer visited the White House, he rejected J.D. Vance’s claim that free speech is restricted in Britain. “We’ve had free speech for a very long time in the UK,” Starmer retorted, “and it will last for a very long time”. Unfortunately, Starmer’s Home Office seems not to have taken notice. Because it has just blocked a famous French writer from entering the UK to give a speech on the dangers of mass immigration, while in the courts British lawyers are trying to legalise Hamas. The writer is Renaud...