After joking to reporters outside the White House Wednesday, April 30 that he'd like to be the next pope, President Donald Trump later suggested a more serious − and more qualified − candidate to assume the papacy following Pope Francis' recent death.

The papacy is a global platform, so the issues Pope Leo chooses to focus on can resonate far beyond the church.

The new pope's leadership will set the tone for the Church's future, whether continuing Francis's progressive reforms or shifting back toward conservatism.

“Robert Prevost was a missionary bishop who gave himself fully to his people and who played an important role in the church of his new country, Peru. In fact, he became a Peruvian citizen,” Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, who studied in Chicago, said in an interview Friday.

New Yorkers and tourists alike are flocking to churches across New York City and the Tri-State to celebrate the news of the first pope from the United States.

Just days before the conclave to elect a new pope begins, on May 7, believers around the world expressed their desire for Francis' successor to embody a more inclusive Church while maintaining a conservative stance on certain societal issues.

Leo XIV’s predecessor Pope Francis, birth name Jorge Maria Bergoglio, appointed 80% of the cardinals who voted to elect one of them as the next pope. Most of Bergoglio’s appointees are younger and more racially and geographically diverse than the men they replaced, and many appear to be far more progressive than he was.

This selection comes after two days of conclave in the Sistine Chapel, tying the modern record for the fastest selection of a pope.