"It's been an unbelievable week, obviously, for all of us," said Mark Duffey, who was ordained as a deacon at St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Palatine.

Catholics and non-Catholics alike were abuzz with excitement in Chicago May 8, after one of the city’s native sons became pope. Taking the name Leo XIV, the new pontiff has made many firsts.

Parishioners at Holy Name Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, shed tears of joy after learning a Chicago native, Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected the new pope on Thursday.

The Associated Press spoke with tourists who were excited to visit Holy Name Cathedral in Pope Leo XIV's hometown of Chicago.

Chicagoans celebrated the historic election of Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the U.S. and a Chicago native, with joy and hope for a renewed focus on social justice and unity within the Catholic Church.

The last official day of mourning for Pope Francis wrapped up in the Vatican Sunday, and a papal conclave will begin on Wednesday, May 7, to choose his successor. A special mass was held Sunday at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral,

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.

Forty-eight-hundred-and-four miles separate Vatican City from Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral, but a group of faithful gathered Wednesday to pray for the world's Cardinals, as they set about electing a new pope. "I hope they elect the right one: a people's pope," parishioner Tom Theobold said.

The historic election of Pope Leo XIV as the first U.S.-born pope is already upending an earlier calculus about U.S. conservative opposition to reform.