SHREVEPORT – The white smoke rose from the Vatican, and Pope Leo XIV has delivered his inaugural Mass in the past two weeks.
Robert Prevost became the first American to ascend to the head of the Catholic Church, and Louisiana has a connection as Prevost’s maternal grandparents were Creoles who lived in New Orleans.
Dr. Cheryl White, an LSUS history professor who is an expert on Catholicism, will discuss the significance of the American and Louisianian connections to the pope and how the conclave was conducted Thursday in a special talk.
White will host the free discussion at 6 p.m. at the Spring Street Museum in downtown Shreveport.
Because space is limited, attendees should register here.
“While Pope Leo XIV might be the first pope to be born in the United States, he is more of a global citizen – his entire worldview is framed by his time serving in the poorest and most vulnerable populations of South America,” White said of the new pope, who spent significant time in Peru and is a dual citizen. “There is no doubt that Pope Leo XIV will continue much of the work of Pope Francis, as we know the two were close friends and he’s already signaled his desire to continue the Church’s synodal process.
“I find it very interesting that he chose the name Leo, a direct nod to the 19th-century Leo XIII, who defined the Church’s modern social teaching and position in a world of rapid industrialization.”
White added that Pope Leo XIV will emphasize “the priority of human dignity over all else.”
While Chicagoans and Louisianians in particular celebrated because of their connection to the new pope, White added that Catholics and non-Catholics from across the world have paid attention.
“All eyes of the world were on Rome – whether Catholic or not, faith or no faith – a nod to the historicity of that ancient office that has lasted for two millennia.”
