Chicago’s South Side was solidly working class during Pope Leo’s childhood, said Rob Paral, a researcher at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago. The family attended a South Side church, but they lived in Dolton, a suburb just past the city line.

In a place where civic pride is a way of life, Chicagoans need little help believing the election of Pope Leo shows their city is among God’s favorites.

After white smoke billowed Thursday from the Sistine Chapel, signaling that a pope had been chosen, students in every classroom at The Frances Xavier Warde School in Chicago had their eyes glued to TV screens.

When still a cardinal, the new pope led discussions on key issues facing the church during which “every voice had equal value,” whether an archbishop or an unordained believer.

As Pope Leo XIV stepped out in front of cheering crowds outside of St. Peter’s Basilica to give his first speech as head of the Holy See, experts took note of a few subtle clues that may reveal what direction the Catholic Church will go under his leadership.