P olitical figures around the world have congratulated Robert Francis Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, after his election on Thursday, May 8, as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Hailing from Chicago and a dual U.S.-Peru national, Prevost is the first North American Pope and second from the Americas, after his late predecessor Francis.

How Pope Leo XIV chooses to tackle critical topics from same-sex marriage to women in the church remains to be seen, but those who know him say he’ll likely continue his predecessor’s path in his own image.