Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost’s ascension to the papacy marks an extraordinary moment for American leadership on the world stage at a time when President Trump has transformed the country’s reputation abroad and fueled distrust among longtime allies. But while two Americans now sit in positions of enormous global influence, Pope Leo XIV may offer the…
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are sending their diplomats to try to de-escalate the conflict between India and Pakistan at a moment of particular global disarray. India and Pakistan have been on a collision course for two weeks, after India accused its neighbor of involvement in a terror attack on April 22 in the…
The new pope, Leo XIV, has spent most of his life as a friar in the Order of St. Augustine, a religious community in the Roman Catholic Church. His experience of joining, serving and leading that institution could shape his approach to the papacy. Experts said that a commitment to two elements of Augustinian teaching…
John Prevost knew there was a chance his brother could be elected pope. “Last Saturday when I was at church, one of the priests came over and told me the odds in Las Vegas were 18 to 1,” said Mr. Prevost, who lives in suburban Chicago. “He didn’t have a doubt. He thought it would…
The risk of an all-out war between India and Pakistan rose this week, despite diplomatic attempts to defuse the fighting after a deadly terrorist attack two weeks ago in Kashmir, a region that the two nations have fought over since 1947. Civilians were killed on Wednesday as India struck deeper into Pakistan than it had…
Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born cardinal selected on Thursday as the new pope, is descended from Creole people of color from New Orleans. The pope’s maternal grandparents, both of whom are described as Black or mulatto in various historical records, lived in the city’s Seventh Ward, an area that is traditionally Catholic and a melting…
As the conflict between India and Pakistan has escalated, with its impact felt well beyond the border in the disputed region of Kashmir, this is the tensest time I can remember since 1971. That was the year of the last major declared war between India and Pakistan. I was in seventh grade, and I can…
For Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, the road to a first-in-the-world trade deal with the United States began on a late winter afternoon when he arrived in the Oval Office, bearing a letter for President Trump. It was from King Charles III, inviting Mr. Trump for a rare second state visit to Britain. It…
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Friday was celebrating his country’s victory 80 years ago against Nazi Germany, presiding over a huge military parade in Moscow joined by China’s top leader, Xi Jinping. The event signified Mr. Putin’s aim to project himself as a leader of an emerging alliance of anti-Western and nonaligned states…
What’s in a name? A lot, it turns out. Matteo Bruni, a Vatican spokesman, told reporters on Thursday that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost’s choice to be called Pope Leo XIV had been a clear and deliberate reference to the last Leo, who led during a difficult time for the Roman Catholic Church and helped marshal…
