Leo urged an end to the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. "I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people," he said. "Let us do everything possible to reach a genuine, just and lasting peace as soon as possible. May all prisoners be freed and children be able to return to their families."

Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology at Villanova University, spoke to Forbes senior editor Maggie McGrath about the selection of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope and what it could mean for global politics to have a pontiff that was born in the United States.