In retrospect, Pope Leo XIV had it all going for him. The new pope, whose election on the second day of the conclave stunned the Roman Catholic world, seemed to be from two places at once. He had the good papal housekeeping seal of approval from Pope Francis, his predecessor, who put him in one of the top jobs in the Roman Catholic Church. There, as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, he led the office that helped that pope choose bishops and, thus, determine the future of the church. At age 69, the new pope is the ideal age for a papal candidate.
