White smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and the great bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang out on Thursday, signaling that a new pope—the 267th leader of the Catholic Church—had been chosen on the second day of the conclave.

Less than a week after Pope Leo XIV took the helm as head of the Catholic Church, he is already making the first social media posts of his papacy and promising to maintain an active digital presence.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV vowed to take “every effort” Wednesday to work for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine and to actively promote the spirituality and traditions of the eastern rite churches, those Catholic communities with origins in the Mideast and eastern Europe that have been decimated by years of conflict and persecution.

Among his first messages, Pope Leo XIV expressed his intention to strengthen the Catholic Church's ties with the Jewish community.

EDWARDSBURG, Mich. (WNDU) - Pope Leo made history as the first Pope from the United States his connections to Michiana continue to be uncovered. One of those ties goes back many years to the Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Edwardsburg.

Pope Leo XIV has broken the seal on the papal apartments, marking one of his first major symbolic moments as pontiff

The elevation of Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost to pope earlier this month has been a point of pride for Chicagoland parishes, including in the north suburbs of Morton Grove, Park Ridge,

The older brother of Pope Leo XIV said Monday that there could be some “bumps” when the new leader of the Catholic Church meets President Donald Trump, but he dismissed the idea that the pope is “woke.