Photos: Chicago celebrates election of Pope Leo XIV
“Long live the Pope! Long live the Pope!” chanted sixth graders from Everest Academy, a Catholic school in Lemont, Ill., in front of Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, following the election of Pope Leo XIV on Thursday. American Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, is a Chicago native and the first American Pope in history. Dozens of people gathered on the steps of the cathedral in downtown Chicago to pray inside, and more honked their horns and cheered from cars as they passed the crowd.
“Long live the Pope! Long live the Pope!” chanted sixth graders from Everest Academy, a Catholic school in Lemont, Ill., in front of Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, following the election of Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native and the first American Pope in history on Thursday, May 8, 2025 in Chicago, Ill.
People peer inside of Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, while waiting to come inside to pray following the election of the new Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
Members of the Archdiocese of Chicago give a press conference following the election of the new Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
Julia Caspar, left, and Catherine Freidenfeld, right, of Hillsdale College, pray following the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
People gather to celebrate the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
People chat outside Holy Name Cathedral while waiting to go inside and pray following the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
People enter Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, to pray following the election of the new Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
A person takes a picture of the front of Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, following the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
People wait outside the doors of Holy Name Cathedral to celebrate the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
People pray following the election of the new Pope on Thursday, May 8, 2025 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill.
Pope Francis' successor is the first American-born pontiff in the Catholic Church's 2,000-year history.
Robert Prevost, elected pope Thursday, grew up in Dolton. Former neighbors and local Catholics reacted to the election of the first American pontiff in the church's 2,000-year history.
"Usually Catholics from the United States never, ever get to be pope, so that was kind of a shock and surprise and actually how fast it went as well too."