Fresh out of Barnard College with a degree in political science, Riley is a writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).
On Thursday, Robert Francis Prevost was elected the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV and becoming the first American pontiff — defying widespread assumptions that a US candidate was a long shot.
Who is he? Raised in Chicago, Pope Leo served for two decades in Peru, where he worked as a missionary, parish priest, teacher, and bishop.
What does he mean for the future of the Catholic Church? The 69-year-old pope faces pivotal decisions about the church’s future — chiefly whether to continue the inclusive and reform-minded agenda of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died last month, or to chart a new course. He echoes Francis’ sentiments on immigration and devotion to the poor, but he is expected to be more conservative — especially when it comes to LGBTQ issues.
While Pope Leo may be a middle-of-the-road choice for the Catholic Church, his views on immigration put him on a crash course with the Trump administration. His X history reveals three recent posts disagreeing with how Trump — and JD Vance, in particular — have treated migrants.
