Pope Leo XIV was elected as the Catholic Church's 267th leader on Thursday. The temporary chimney atop the Sistine Chapel released a plume of white smoke on Thursday evening local time, signaling that the 133 cardinals working inside had reached a two-thirds majority to elect a new pope for the Catholic Church.

Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology at Villanova University, spoke to Forbes senior editor Maggie McGrath about the selection of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope and what it could mean for global politics to have a pontiff that was born in the United States.

Pope Leo XIV delivered his first Sunday blessing as pontiff, calling for unity in a polarized church and appealing to the world’s major powers for peace. He delivered his message to an estimated 100,000 people from the loggia of St.