Putin congratulated Pope Leo XIV on his election, expressing hope for continued dialogue based on "shared Christian values."

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, sent a message of congratulations on Friday to Pope Leo, whose predecessor Pope Francis had criticised Kirill's backing for Russia's war in Ukraine.

P olitical figures around the world have congratulated Robert Francis Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, after his election on Thursday, May 8, as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Hailing from Chicago and a dual U.S.-Peru national, Prevost is the first North American Pope and second from the Americas, after his late predecessor Francis.