Prevost, 69, took the name Leo XIV. He grew up in Dolton and attended St. Mary of the Assumption. A childhood friend said maybe now that he's pope, their old church will be reopened.

Never in the history of the Roman Catholic Church has there been an American pope, but now, one name has been coming up as a possible frontrunner. Robert Cardinal Prevost is originally from Chicago, and serves as the head of the church's Dicastery for Bishops.