As details of Pope Leo’s past life come to light one thing, many are struck by his Chicago roots and his Chicago-ness.

One thing seemed clear from the moment Pope Leo stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: He was not another Pope Francis — or another Pope Benedict XVI or St. John Paul II. He intended to do things his own way.

While no one from then-Father Prevost’s time at the Angelicum is still teaching there, Father White is proud that Leo XIV is the second contemporary pope to be an Angelicum graduate in recent decades.

Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report shows an increase in abortions from the previous year’s report, while also showing a $100 million increase in government funding amid an overall decrease in cancer screenings and prevention services.

Among his first messages, Pope Leo XIV expressed his intention to strengthen the Catholic Church’s ties with the Jewish community.

Augustinian Father Robert Hagan said that fellow order member Pope Leo XIV has “always been a brother to us” — one who encouraged him from his early days to his own leadership role in the order.

“Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” St. Augustine’s famous words addressed to God introduce his account of how a headstrong, self-indulgent young man became one of the most important Christian thinkers of all time and a saint — and the father of the Augustinian order, to which Pope Leo XIV belongs.

A report released earlier this year estimates that the Catholic Church in Minnesota contributes more than $5 billion annually in economic benefits to the state.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington has confirmed to OSV News that its offices are assisting with some travel expenses, at the request of the state of Virginia, for dozens of white South Africans known as Afrikaners, whose refugee applications were expedited by the Trump administration due to what the White House called “racial discrimination.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order May 12 that he said would lower prescription drug costs — an issue the U.S. bishops have flagged in recent years — but the exact potential impact of the order was the subject of debate.