Father Robert "Bob" Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, presided over the baptism of his three sons in 2014 in a small town in Michigan. "I mean, for the first pope from the United States, and then the pope happened to be the same person who who did the sacrament of Baptism for the children — it was just unbelievable," Lundberg tells TODAY.com.

Members of the media floated the notion that Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, will serve as a counterbalance to President Donald Trump.

Pope Leo XIV on Monday called for the release of imprisoned journalists and affirmed the “precious gift of free speech and the press”

The U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that taxes citizens living abroad. Thus, thanks to his American passport, the 69-year-old Chicago-born pope, known until last week as Robert Prevost, will likely need to file a tax return to the U.S. government just like any other citizen, experts told Fortune.

Pope Leo XIV, previously Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, faces scrutiny for his conservative views on LGBTQ+ issues, contrasting with Pope Francis's inclusive approach.