Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born cardinal selected Thursday as the new Pope, was a surprise pick, says Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.
"Like many people, I was very surprised," Cordileone, the Archbishop of San Francisco, said Friday during an appearance on Newsmax TV's "Newsline."
"I didn't think that, at least for the rest of our lives, there would be an American Pope. Like many others, I never heard his name mentioned as a top contender," he added.
"But now that I'm getting to know about him more and see how he presents himself, and considering his background, it does make sense to me that he's the logical successor."
Prevost, a 69-year-old member of the Augustinian religious order who spent his career ministering in Peru, took the name Leo XIV.
Prevost had been a leading candidate for the papacy, but there had long been a taboo against a U.S. Pope, given the geopolitical power the country already wields. But Prevost was seemingly eligible because he's also a Peruvian citizen and had lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as bishop, and cardinals may have thought the 21st century world order could handle a U.S.-born Pope.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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