Many of the approximately 100 people who gathered at a cathedral adorned with yellow and white papal bunting expressed shock at the election of an American pope. But there was also a sense of excitement.

President Donald Trump on May 8 congratulated Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, who was elected the 267th pope the same day, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.

Even before he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and spoke May 8, Pope Leo XIV’s choice of a name was a powerful statement.

Catholic groups are welcoming Pope Leo XIV — the second pope from the Americas, and the first U.S.-born pontiff — who was elected May 8, the second day of the papal conclave.

Cardinal Robert F. Prevost has selected the name Pope Leo XIV, an apparent nod to Pope Leo XIII, who deserves to be called the founding father of Catholic social doctrine in modern times, with his encyclical “Rerum Novarum” as its foundational document.