TAMPA - News of the first American-born pope is especially welcome at a Catholic university in the Tampa Bay area.
"We are all, I think, super excited that he took the name Leo XIV," said Dr. Stephen Okey, an associate professor of theology and religion at Saint Leo University.
Okey says the last Pope named Leo, the thirteenth, was a traditionalist who was also concerned about the working class. What is now Saint Leo University was founded under Leo XIII's papacy, which ended with his death in 1903. It's named for that Leo as well as the first Pope Leo ("the Great") , later named Saint Leo.
Cardinal Robert Prevost was born in Chicago and graduated from Villanova University, but he has spent most of his career outside the United States. He served as a bishop in Peru and became a Peruvian citizen. He also led the Vatican office that oversees the selection of bishops.
Okey did not expect a U.S. born-pope, saying that his long residence outside the U.S. and dual citizenship may have eased concerns about giving the papacy to a citizen of a superpower.
Okey says the new pope shares many concerns with the late Pope Francis, include the environment and the poor.
Hear more from Dr. Okey about the new pope in our Beyond the News podcast by playing below.
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