It is a very nice thing for America and the world that the new pope, Leo XIV — who will help guide the faith of more than a billion of our fellow earthlings — is a Chicagoan. Here in the first

New Yorkers and tourists alike are flocking to churches across New York City and the Tri-State to celebrate the news of the first pope from the United States.

The new head of the Catholic church is a tennis fan. Within the walls of Vatican City, he will find his own court to play on.

A papal conclave is set to begin in Vatican City starting May 7, during which cardinals from around the world will elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic church. The tradition occurs any time a pope dies or resigns from the office. Here's what to know ahead of this week's conclave.

The conclave to select the next pope has begun after Catholic cardinals from across the world filed into the Sistine Chapel Wednesday before sealing themselves inside.

“Robert Prevost was a missionary bishop who gave himself fully to his people and who played an important role in the church of his new country, Peru. In fact, he became a Peruvian citizen,” Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, who studied in Chicago, said in an interview Friday.

The new pope said he would be guided by a key document that his predecessor wrote listing the church’s priorities, including a “loving care for the least and the rejected.”