As a historically Catholic city, New Orleans was always going to celebrate the new pope. Zoom in: But once news broke that Pope Leo XIV has roots in New Orleans as a "Creole of color," the celebration leveled up considerably.

A special Mass took place Wednesday at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston’s South End to celebrate Pope Leo XIV. Boston Archbishop Richard Henning said in the homily that the new pope’s American roots are not as important as the task at hand.