Pope Francis

Pope Leo presided over a New Year’s Eve vespers service, giving thanks for the 2025 Holy Year that brought millions to Rome.

Discussions over women becoming deacons, who are ordained and can assist with services but cannot celebrate Mass, have convulsed the 1.4 billion-member Church.

The new pontiff has been far more reserved than his outspoken predecessor. But many of their underlying progressive messages remain the same.

Ahead of his visit, Leo shared a Thanksgiving message with NBC News encouraging all people "to recognize that we have all received so many gifts."

“We’re pleased that we have here a serious contribution towards the health care of children in Gaza,” Caritas Secretary-General Alistair Dutton said in Bethlehem.

Several LGBTQ groups participated in the pilgrimage to the Vatican for the Jubilee Year, the once-every-quarter century celebration of Catholicism.

Carlo Acutis was just 15 when he died of leukemia in Milan in 2006 and has two miracles attributed to him by the Catholic Church.

The audience was significant because it showed a sign of continuity with Francis, who more worked to make the Catholic Church a more welcoming place for LGBTQ Catholics.

Pope Leo XIV’s home state of Illinois has seen one of the largest declines in Catholic worshippers.

Leo is also the first Augustinian friar to become pope, rising through the ranks as a friar in an order centered on communal life and humility.

Robert Francis Prevost will be known as Pope Leo XIV. Born in Chicago, he was elected on the second day of the conclave.