Pope Leo XIV, the first American leader of the Catholic Church, previously known as Robert Francis Prevost, returned to the Sistine Chapel the day after his election to deliver a mass for the College of Cardinals, where he described his role as both a cross to bear and a blessing and urged church leaders to make themselves “small.”

Robert Prevost, who was promoted by Francis and has a knack for management and a zeal for missionary work, was a stronger candidate than many outside the Vatican knew.