The election of Leo XIV broke one of the geopolitical paradigms of modern Catholicism: the pope cannot come from a world (or colonial) superpower, whether Spain, Portugal, France, or the United States. The geopolitical upheaval brought on by a Trumpist America has contributed to the breaking of that centuries-long rule. But to some, the election of a U.S.-born pope didn’t seem so impossible this time.
The conclave also put an end to the state of exception that was created by the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Benedict XVI, when he announced his resignation in February 2013. That decision established a modern precedent, introduced the new title of “pope emeritus,” and entailed a longer-than-expected cohabitation in the Vatican with his successor. Francis ended his pontificate in what you might call the traditional way.
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