Second, and more broadly, the name connotes someone who is strong, particularly in a time of crisis. When Pope Francis selected his name, it was to honor Saint Francis of Assisi, “the man of poverty,

ABC News’ Linsey Davis is in Vatican City where Pope Leo XIV has become the first American pontiff in the Catholic Church’s two thousand year history.

Plumes of white smoke streaming from a Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday signaled that a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church had been selected.