The 69-year-old is the first cardinal from US to lead the world’s largest Christian Church.
A new pope has been elected – the first from the United States to lead the Roman Catholic Church.
But the institution is divided between progressives and traditionalists, in a world polarised by conflict and widening political division.
So, what role might Pope Leo XIV play within his church and on the world political stage?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Stan Chu Ilo – Research professor of world Catholicism at DePaul University and president of Pan-African Catholic Network.
Joanne Pierce – Professor emerita at the Department of Religious Studies at College of the Holy Cross
Neil Thorns – Director of advocacy and communications at the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)