Pope Leo XIV speaks to representatives of the media who covered his election in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican May 12, 2025. Photo: CNS/Lola Gomez. How striking it was to hear the first words of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate. They surprised, in no small part of course, because the world had never heard before from a pontiff born in the United States. But even more significantly, the first words he spoke as pope were not his own. Stepping out onto…
