At this early stage of Leo XIV’s pontificate, the text is a “must read” for Catholics. Here are three notable takeaways.

“I would like us to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council,” Pope Leo said.

Pope Leo XIV picked one of the most common names in history for a pope. But it is a name with great resonance in modern church history, and one whose selection suggests quite a bit about what the reign of the new pontiff might be like.

The late pope’s attention to geographic detail led to what was described as the most diverse conclave in the history of the church.

Vatican reporter Gerard O'Connell, Colleen Dulle and Sam Sawyer, S.J., discuss the unexpectedly quick election of the first American pope.