No one expected an American pope.
asserted
one → expect → pope
Here's the inside story of how 'Bob' became Pope Leo
NPR's Daniel Burke and Scott Detrow covered the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
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that → become → XIV
The following excerpt is adapted from their new biography of Pope Leo, American Pope, out Tuesday.
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excerpt → follow → Leo
In the days immediately following Pope Francis' death, messages from friends poured into Cardinal Robert Prevost's phone.
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messages → follow → phone
Father Ramiro Castillo Castro, who had studied under Prevost in the 1990s, was among those who sent condolences.
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who → study → condolences
"Thank you, Ramiro," Prevost responded.
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Prevost → thank → you
"We have to pray a lot.
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We → have → ?
"Polly and I send our love and prayers for you in these momentous days," wrote John Snider, a Lutheran pastor with whom Prevost had spent a summer in Minneapolis debating theology and learning how to minister to the sick and dying before they were both ordained.
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they → send → sick
Now, decades later, Snider was winding down his career, and Prevost was about to participate in a conclave to elect the next pope.
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Prevost → wind → pope
"As I near retirement, 3 weeks, you are taking on such intense responsibility," he wrote.
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he → near → responsibility
"Everything is in God's hands," responded Prevost, thanking the Sniders for their friendship through the years.
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Prevost → respond → years
John Barry, Prevost's friend dating back to high school, was overcome by the news of Francis' death.
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Barry → date → death
"I know you were close to him and I'm sorry for your personal loss.
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I → know → loss
The world has lost a great man.
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world → lose → man
You also lost a friend," he wrote.
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he → lose → friend
He offered his prayers and then turned to something that Prevost's friends around the world — in Illinois, in Peru, in Rome and elsewhere — were thinking.
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friends → offer → Rome
"Okay, now Bob please don't get upset with me, but I believe what [their mutual friend] Jeanette first said — that you could possibly be the next pope.
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you → get → what
(Of course, you're too humble to entertain such thoughts.)
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you → entertain → thoughts
I realize it's not a job a person would want, but in my heart I know you would make a great pope.
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you → realize → pope
You've obviously got the brains for the job.
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You → get → job
But your compassion, your kind heart, and your holiness are what really elevate you in my eyes.
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what → elevate → eyes
You're the best man I know.
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I → know → ?
And this may or may not be a silly question, but if you do become pope, can I still email you?
uncertain
I → become → you
Amid the flurry of activity in Rome, Prevost found the time to quickly write back.
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Prevost → find → time
"I just leave everything in the Lord's hands," he responded.
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he → leave → hands
"Francis' passing is a true loss ... it will take time to process. ...
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it → take → time
"Since I really don't think there will be a need to change addresses," he added at the end, "you can still write. …
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you → think → end
Just tell your dad that you call me by the right name!"
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you → tell → name
(This was a reference to a running joke between the two of them about how upset Barry's father was that his son called his high-ranking cardinal friend "Bob."
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son → run → friend
For all his friends' intuition, Prevost was not one of the cardinals initially focused on as a "papabile," a papal contender (the phrase literally means "pope-able" in Italian).
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phrase → focus → Italian
An American had never been pope, and the prevailing conventional wisdom was that one never would be elected.
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one → prevail → ?
The country already had too much influence over world events, some argued.
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some → have → events
The political situation in the United States may have made the prospect of an American pope seem even more unlikely.
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prospect → make → pope
President Trump had returned to power and had spent the first months of 2025 asserting his "America First" agenda on the world through brute force.
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Trump → return → force
And just as cardinals arrived in Rome in the wake of Francis' death, Trump posted an AI-generated image on social media depicting himself as the next pope, offending the cardinals and Catholics around the world.
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Trump → arrive → world
So no one expected an American pope, certainly not in that moment.
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one → expect → moment
"We're talking about a country that has political, economic, military power in the world," Chicago's archbishop, Cardinal Blase Cupich, said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, "and so I think it's a stretch to say that it's prudent to go ahead and have someone who is from that country.
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who → talk → country
I'm not going to handicap anybody in terms of their chances.
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I → go → chances
But I think that'd be a stretch."
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that → think → ?
Prevost read the article.
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Prevost → read → article
…and 119 more, not listed.
The Aporia
