In his first appointment of a top-level official of the Roman Curia, Pope Leo XIV named Sr. Tiziana Merletti, a canon lawyer, to be secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
After stepping out to the main balcony as Pope Leo XIV, he mentioned no nationality. Instead, he identified himself as "a son of St. Augustine, an Augustinian."
The challenges for the Catholic Church in Chicago, where Robert Prevost grew up, are a microcosm of the gargantuan problems facing the worldwide Catholic Church that the new Pope Leo XIV must address.
The new pontiff is former Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, a Chicago-born Augustinian friar who previously headed the influential Vatican Dicastery for Bishops.
Pope Francis invited all Catholics to the table in deliberating the future of the church. Sisters involved in those synods believe there's no turning back — even with a new pope.
Religious sisters said that Francis consistently demonstrated a profound concern for the poor in Africa, reflecting his broader commitment to the marginalized worldwide.
