The Cathedral of Blessed Sacrament held a special mass Wednesday to celebrate the election of Pope Leo XIV. Bishop Bartchak and a large crowd made up of all ages offered prayers of support for the new pope.

The pontiff, who was elected in a conclave that ended last Thursday, will be officially installed as the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics at a mass in St. Peter's Square on Sunday.

Some conservatives and traditionalist Catholics are cautiously optimistic over the historic election of Pope Leo XIV, hopeful he will return doctrinal rigor to the papacy, even as progressives sense he will continue Pope Francis’ reformist agenda.

The pontiff held his first meeting with the news media at the Vatican and called on reporters to choose “the path of communication in favor of peace.”

During her show on Friday, the conservative podcast host said she wasn’t surprised that the new pope had disapproved of several Trump policies in the past, since most Catholics are

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine. During their first phone chat, Zelensky thanked him for supporting peace.