In his first days as pope, Leo XIV has struck many as an unassuming man of quiet warmth and deeply rooted identity. A visit to the part of Chicago where the first American Pontiff was raised gives an idea of how he got that way.

He is a man formed by his experience in the church of Chicago, especially the south side,’ writes Mark Francis, CSV.

Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost has spent much of his time serving in Peru. He was elected the first American pope from the U.S., and took the name Leo XIV.