As Pope Leo XIV settles into his papacy, the three million U.S. Black Catholics contemplate its deeper meaning, as questions linger about his ethnic heritage. Get daily updates on

Al Pacino met with Pope Leo XIV on Monday, becoming the first movie star to get an audience with the first U.S. Pope.

Pope Leo XIV has made waves with some of his fashion choices, returning to much of the traditional pomp of popes past.

How he chooses to bring his own legal acumen to bear on each of these three situations will say a great deal about the early direction of his pontificate.

Pope Leo also extended an invitation to join this Holy Year to the cheering crowd, which quieted down, eyes to the video monitors across the field. “In this Jubilee Year of Hope, Christ, who is our hope, indeed calls all of us to come together, that we might be that true living example: the light of hope in the world today,” he said.

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.

Through a distant maternal ancestor, who was born in the 1590s, Pope Leo is ninth cousins, various times removed, with some well-known figures, including Pierre and Justin Trudeau, Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber, Jack Kerouac and Madonna.

Speaking to pilgrims at the end of a special Jubilee audience June 14, the pope expressed deep concern over the “seriously deteriorating” situation in the Middle East, warning of the consequences of further escalation. “I want to strongly renew an appeal to responsibility and reason,” he said.