Dual citizenship: American and Peruvian. A polyglot global citizen concerned with the poor and the most vulnerable. The appointment of the new pope, Leo XIV, sparked a wave of patriotism in American media, which immediately focused on Chicago – where he grew up in the southern part of the city.

His election was acknowledged by Donald Trump, albeit minimally. "It is such an honor to realize he is the first American pope," wrote the president of the United States on his Truth Social network. "What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country." The apparent lack of inspiration is an implicit admission: the profile of the new Vatican leader does not align with the preferences of the MAGA world ("Make America Great Again"), which is focused on the largest anti-immigrant campaign in the country's history. As Kathleen Sprows Cummings, professor of American studies at the University of Notre Dame (a Catholic university in South Bend, Indiana) has claimed, Leo XIV seeks to unify rather than polarize and to overcome divisions rather than sow them. Cummings also said that the new pope puts Christ first − before Nation − and that the Catholic Church should transcend barriers of all kind, including national and other human-made borders.

You have 71.31% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.