"It's been an unbelievable week, obviously, for all of us," said Mark Duffey, who was ordained as a deacon at St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Palatine.

We have an American Peruvian pope,” said Betty Lazaro. Locals say they expect Pope Leo XIV to carry on Pope Francis’ call to advocate for the poor and immigrants.

ROME - The new Chicago-raised Pope Leo XIV faces an immediate challenge in his native country: taming the brawling U.S. tribe of Catholics, riven by political divisions that have thwarted the will of his predecessors.