One day before Northern students were set to come back from their Spring Break, a shocking headline popped up in the news: Pope Francis, born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, had died at 88 years old. Francis had been the Pope since 2013, and was widely beloved by the international community; well-known for his compassion for immigrants and refugees, advocating for the ending of wars, and a shift towards a more progressive social policy, many countries expressed an outpouring of support for Francis after his tragic death–including attending his funeral.
Not long after a bout of pneumonia that almost cost him his life, Francis suffered a stroke before peacefully dying two hours later; following his open casket funeral on April 26, the Papal Conclave elected a new pope on May 8. Shockingly, he is Robert Prevost, a Chicagoan who has defied expectations and became the very first American pope in papal history–naming himself Pope Leo XIV; he was close with Pope Francis and is expected to continue many of his humanitarian policies. –Boris Nusinzon
