Pope Leo XIV said Friday that his election was both a cross and a blessing as he celebrated his first Mass in the Sistine Chapel.

Details have begun to emerge of how votes swiftly coalesced to make Pope Leo XIV history’s first American pope. Freed from their conclave, cardinals began describing the hours and days

A formal Mass to mark the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV will take place on May 18 in St. Peter's Square, the Vatican announced the day after stunning the world with the election of the first pope from the United States in the Church's history.