Excitement rippled through New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday morning, the first since an American was picked to lead the Roman Catholic Church in a selection that surprised and delighted many of his countrymen and women.

Mass said they hoped Pope Leo, the first U.S-born pontiff, would focus on inclusivity and address ideological divides within the Catholic Church.

News that the global Catholic church would get its first-ever U.S.-born pope was welcomed by Catholics across the ideological spectrum in Pope Leo XIV’s homeland, raising the question of whether he mi