Chicago Cardinal says when Pope Leo XIV is ready to travel to the United States, he will push for a Chicago stop.

"We are simply overjoyed," said Sister Barbara Reid, president of Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park, where Pope Leo earned his Master of Divinity in 1982.

Pope Leo's inauguration mass held on Sunday, May 19. After returning to Nigeria, Peter Obi shared why he did not personally meet the new Catholic Church head.

The service marks the official start of Leo's papacy just under a month after the death of his predecessor, Pope Francis. The ceremony began with a procession from St. Peter's Basilica — where Leo and other church leaders visited St. Peter's tomb to pray — to St. Peter's Square, where the Inauguration Mass was held.

Italians — and Romans in particular — have had mixed responses to the so-called “American pope.” Most are cautiously optimistic, taking a wait-and-see approach to the 69-year-old pontiff who grew up in the south suburbs.

PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina have travelled to Rome to attend the Inauguration of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. The Mass of Inauguration is set to kick off at 10am in St

In his public appearance as pope, Leo called himself an Augustinian, putting an unusual spotlight on his religious order.

Lisa and Rich Solava and Denise Utter were friends with Robert Prevost long before he became pope — and have the selfies to prove it. They are in Vatican City for Leo's inauguration.