"What does the pope think about us being related? That's my question," one cousin said. "What does he think of us because we're Afro American?" She plans to write a letter inviting Leo to her home if he ever visits New Orleans.

A new AP-NORC poll finds that just over a month after Pope Leo XIV became the first U.S.-born pontiff, American Catholics are feeling excited about their new religious leader.

Pope Leo XIV stressed the importance to society of sport in his Angelus address in the Vatican on Sunday. Sport was more than physical achievement, but could also "become an important means of reconciliation and encounter: between peoples and within communities,

Pope Leo XIV addressed the faithful with his thoughts about the "many armed conflicts" happening in the world during the traditional Angelus prayer he held on Sunday (June 15) in St Peter's Square.

There is no evidence Pope Leo XIV publicly said the quote in question. A Google search of the words " Pope Leo 'you cannot follow both Christ and the cruelty of kings' " revealed only social media posts featuring the graphic above or attributing the quote to Pope Leo XIV without any evidence.

Pope Leo XIV is distantly related to a number of prominent figures, including Hillary Clinton and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to a genealogy investigation published by the New York Times.

Chicago native Pope Leo XIV is celebrated in his North American hometown with a mass at Rate Field, home to the Chicago White Sox.