The papal conclave has finished, and the choice has been made: Cardinal Prevost, the first pope from the United States in history.
He says that he has chosen the regnal name Leo XIV. He is right now at the balcony of St. Peter reading his speech (in rather good Italian, I have to say), switching at times to very good Spanish (he spent many years in Peru and has double nationality).
This choice has been a bit surprising. The US is the global hegemon (or almost), and some pundits were saying that a US pope would be unlikely: the US has huge political, economical and military power, and it was thought that electors would be also reluctant to give the US also religious power.
Well, let’s see how he is. I was honestly not really expecting to see a US pope in my lifetime.