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The papal conclave ended with the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Leo XIV, before we recorded a human (not AI) read-through. So this week’s audio piece (by Michael, from near Chicago) is almost nothing like the original This Week, Those Books post:
Some additional resources and fun stuff:
THE POPE’S FIRST HOMILIES: The book is titled God Loves Everyone: The Essential Pope Leo XIV, Selected Homilies and Sermons: The Voice of Robert Francis Prevost, from Peru to the Papacy. A bit of a mouthful but worthwhile nonetheless. Some of Cardinal Prevost’s homilies were already available in book form, but this new volume has been issued in record time by Huayruro Editorial. It’s an independent press that specialises in bringing important voices from Latin America to English-speaking readers. Huayruro says the book “was made with urgency and reverence”.
CHICAGO GOES MAD FOR LEO: The city where the new pope was born in 1955, has been celebrating Leo XIV’s ascent. The local paper, Chicago Sun Times, used a local idiom to mark the moment: “Da Pope” screamed its front page headline.
In honour of Leo, establishments across the city put together a basket of goodies…and then some. A bakery created ‘Pope cookies’. Portillo’s, a famous Chicago restaurant chain, named its popular Italian beef sandwich ‘the Leo’ for the rest of this month. A bar had a $5 offer on the Chicago Handshake, a combination drink of a shot and a beer. There are brand new baseball jerseys with ‘Leo 14’ emblazoned on the back. A pizzeria shared a photo of the former Cardinal Prevost’s August 2024 visit. The White Sox baseball team, which counts the new pope as a long-time fan, put out video footage of him in the stands during a 2005 World Series Major League Baseball game. This fragment from ABC 7 Chicago TV is fascinating…
AS DOES CHICLAYO, PERU: In 2014, the priest who just became pope was appointed bishop of the Peruvian city of Chiclayo. Leo is a naturalised citizen of Peru and his adopted country has been telling the world about his favourites from the local cuisine. The Chiclayo restaurant he patronised says he loves goat with beans and rice.1
A HOME FIT FOR A MUSEUM? In January, the pope’s childhood home went on the market. According to its real estate listing,2 the modest three-bedroom brick house was built in 1949 and available to buy for $245,957. Soon after Leo’s election, the listing was taken down, suggesting the house may now have a quite different destiny to what realtors originally planned.
HOLY SMOKE: Pope Leo XIV’s election has set off a blizzard of memes3 on social media, which remains obsessed with the intersection of power and religion. Most of it has been pretty good humoured.
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https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/11/world/video/pope-favorite-dish-peru-pozzebon-pkg-digvid
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Dolton/212-E-141st-Pl-60419/home/12948058#property-details
https://x.com/ClubConcrave/status/1920511067785965628
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