Jessica Karl, Columnist

From Villanova to the Vatican

Pope Leo XIV, the first American to assume the papacy, has charisma on his side.

Praying for da Bears?

Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Europe

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When I saw the white smoke emerge from the live chimney cam I was watching at my desk this afternoon, I thought it could go one of two ways: We get a woke pope — either Tagle or Zuppi — and the TikTok hive goes wild, or we get a non-woke pope, and the vibe instantly darkens. But I didn’t anticipate the third option: An American pope who informally goes by the name “Bob.”