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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

World's First U.S.-Born Pope Now Leads 1.4 Billion Catholics; Pope Leo XIV Expected to Build on Pope Francis' Reforms. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 09, 2025 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[04:00:00]

FATHER TOM HAGAN, FOUNDER OF HANDS TOGETHER: A core principle, love God and love your neighbor. And I think, you know, for Leo, I don't think people aspire to be Pope. I think he loved God and he loved his neighbor and it took him to places like the poorest of the poor in Peru and to places around the world where people just discovered this authenticity and this genuine love for people.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Father Hagen, it's really a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you so much. The news continues here on CNN.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon. It is Friday, May 9th, 4 a.m. here in New York and straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a Pope.

POPE LEO XIV: La pace sia con tutti voi.

(through translator) Peace be with you all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He brings an organizational skill which the church sadly needs right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first American Pope in history.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't think it was possible, but he's a person that really has the heart of the whole church.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has said that it will agree to the 30-day truce, but it's waiting for Russia to support the proposal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A ceasefire will be a real indicator of movement towards peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: We begin this morning with the Vatican and Catholic faithful filled with the excitement this morning over the announcement of the new American-born Pope Leo XIV. And the world will be watching closely to see how he chooses to define his papacy. So live pictures now from Vatican City where Pope Leo will soon celebrate mass with the Cardinals who elected him. That's expected to get underway in about an hour in the Sistine Chapel.

This, of course, was the big moment yesterday. White smoke there pouring from perhaps the world's most famous chimney, the clear indicator that a new Pope had been chosen.

The smoke signal, soon followed by the Latin words, translated to mean, we have a Pope, and then a greeting from the new leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV: La pace sia con tutti voi.

(through translator) Peace be with you all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Pope Leo is a member of the Augustinian religious order and he is expected to build on the reforms of his predecessor, Pope Francis. A longtime friend says that he expects to see him continue to advocate for the protection of the environment and also prioritize serving the poor. Leading the Vatican Bishop's office, then Cardinal Robert Prevost said that he still considers himself a missionary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pope Francis has reminded us many times a bishop is called to serve, his authority is service. And so to look for different ways in which a bishop can serve in any given society, in any given church, I think is very important. The bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom, but rather called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them, and to look for ways that he can better live the gospel message in the midst of his people.

SOLOMON: All right let's start things off with CNN's Ben Wedeman live for us and covering all of this from Rome. Ben, great to see you this morning, good morning. So as we said, mass expected to begin a short time from now, what can we expect to see?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we'll be seeing is all the Cardinals who participated in the conclave will be there along with others. And this will be his first sort of act as Pope, although he hasn't actually been officially installed. That comes a few days later, although we don't know the precise date.

Nonetheless, the announcement yesterday that he is Pope, Pope Leo XIV, came as a surprise to many. Here we have the day, Rome Daily, El Messaggero saying Il Papa Americano, the American Pope, that's all it says. Does stress that he is calling for the construction of bridges, something of a contrast with the American president who's talking about building walls. La Repubblica, the exact same headline, Il Papa Americano.

Now we were in the square yesterday when the announcement was made and we had the opportunity to speak to an American couple who had arrived that morning from the US. They live in North Carolina and they, like us, were surprised by the nationality of the new Pope.

Here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:05:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm shocked and I'm thrilled and I just hope that he continues to do the wonderful works that Pope Francis did and just makes us all unified in the end.

WEDEMAN: And, Bud, you were here before. You served in the military during the 1980s. You're back and back.

The timing is quite incredible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazing, amazing, yes. Yes, I was here 41 years ago, saw Pope John Paul II about 100 feet over there and this is amazing. It's just very emotional and just super proud we have an American Pope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN (on camera): And in the crowd, there were also people who weren't so thrilled. I spoke to an Italian couple who felt that it's time for an Italian Pope again. The last Italian Pope was John Paul I, who only reigned for 33 days back in 1978 before dying mysteriously.

But, however, many in the crowd were surprised at Pope Leo XIV's linguistic abilities. He delivered a very fluent Italian speech, then broke into Spanish, fluent as well. So the feeling is that even though this is an American, a country not known for its linguistic abilities, that, in fact, this is perhaps a Pope who has a more international perspective on the world -- Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yes, perhaps a more global reach. I think a lot of people were shocked, as you pointed out, at his speech there and his linguistic skills, as you point out. Ben Wedeman, live for us in Rome. Ben, we'll see you soon. Thank you.

And news of Leo's election drew a positive reaction from many American political leaders.

President Donald Trump expressed pride at seeing an American heading the church.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What greater honor could there be that we were a little bit surprised, very happy. It's just a great, absolutely great honor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Former President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic himself, tells CNN that he has high hopes for the new leader of the church.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I think he's great. I think he's a good friend of Francis. And, you know, I think he's going to keep moving the church in a direction of being more ecumenical and reaching out. And I think that's all good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And former President and Chicago native Barack Obama sent congratulations to the Chicago-born Pope, writing on X, we will pray for him as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic church and setting an example for so many, regardless of faith.

Now, some of Trump's supporters, meanwhile, are not sharing the president's excitement for the new pope. They are criticizing former Cardinal Prevost over a handful of posts made in recent months from an X-account in his name, denouncing several Trump administration comments and policies.

Now, the account has been active for a decade, but CNN has not been able to confirm that it actually belongs to the new Pope.

Staying in Rome now, let's bring in CNN's Vatican analyst, Elise Allen, who is also a senior correspondent at Crooks Now. Also joining me is Father Patrick Mary Brisco, editor at Our Sunday Visitor.

Great to see you both, but Elise, let me start with you. What are you going to be watching for today as we listen for this mass? As I think a lot of people around the world try to understand how he will be similar and also different from Pope Francis.

ELISE ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: You know, this mass is going to be really important. It's going to be his first opportunity to give his sort of view and maybe perhaps a roadmap of his papacy to the world. It's a moment, you know, of fraternity with his fellow Cardinals, or at least until yesterday, they were his fellow Cardinals.

So, you know, it's going to be a moment with them to celebrate that moment with them and to perhaps express gratitude to them again for their, you know, companionship in the last few years and even weeks and days here in Rome.

But perhaps, you know, we're also going to get a peek at what the priorities of his papacy are going to be in his homily today as we listen to his words and see what his sort of first message as pope is going to be to the Cardinals and to the world.

SOLOMON: Yes, Father Patrick, talk to me a little bit more about that. I mean, the task ahead now for Pope Leo is obviously a very challenging time for many people around the world. I personally was struck by how many times he mentioned peace yesterday in his comments.

What lies ahead of him now?

FATHER PATRICK MARY BRISCO, EDITOR, OUR SUNDAY VISITOR: One of the great titles of the Pope, one of the great titles for the Pope is that he's the builder of bridges. He's supposed to be the great bridge builder. And our new Holy Father, Pope Leo, has displayed a strong awareness of this, that he really has placed this emphasis on unity, that he wants to bring people in.

I was struck by the number of times he said, tutti in his address from the loggia. He was talking about all, all. He stepped out, right, and he said, "Peace be with you all," a number of times, you know, referring to everyone.

[04:10:00]

And it shows us his desire really to engage with the world. I think this is also represented, of course, by his selection of the name Leo, Pope Leo XIII, his predecessor, of course, was a great pope who engaged the modern world at the end of the 19th century.

So we'll see in this, we'll see in this mode, I think, an engagement of outreach, that he'll be really someone who wants to bring in, again, everyone, and that he'll be looking to continue to grow the Church and to unite the Church in what is, in fact, a very contentious and difficult moment in history.

SOLOMON: Yes. Elise, you recently met the now Pope. Talk to me a little bit about that experience and what that was like.

ALLEN: Well, I actually, you know, had thought that maybe Prevost had a chance of being elected. He seemed to be sort of a late front runner going into the conclave, you know, but when it happened so fast, I thought it maybe couldn't have been him. They couldn't have reached the consensus that quickly.

So I was actually, you know, standing actually in the crowd on the street with, you know, alongside many of the people in Rome here, you know, when they made that announcement and I heard his name, you know, and I guess as an American and as somebody, you know, who in Rome we've crossed paths on occasion, you know, I got chills. You know, it was, it's a historic moment, you know, to be here and to live this moment. It's actually my first conclave as, you know, a Vatican reporter.

I got here just after Pope Francis was elected. So to be here and to be part of this moment and to share in that with so many members of the Church, with the Church of Rome, but also, you know, as an American myself, it was very exciting and you could just feel sort of the electricity going through the crowd yesterday when they heard his name pronounced.

SOLOMON: And Father Patrick, talk to me a little bit about how you or how Pope Leo may now try to translate that electricity into enthusiasm in the Catholic Church in the U.S. I mean, I myself have gone to Catholic schools pretty much my entire education. I've gone to a Catholic university. And I wonder, both in terms of just him being so relatable, I mean, apparently he loves to play Wordle.

You know, he's obviously from Chicago. You know, you're hearing a lot of people talk about how they know him as Bob. But again, just this ability to perhaps re-energize, if you will, the Catholic Church and congregations around the country and the world.

BRISCO: Well, that's certainly my hope is that our new Pope, that Pope Leo will be a man who, again, draws people in and who really reaches out and engages maybe Catholics that are not active or invites people to take a look at and to engage in the Catholic Church. I think we're seeing that online a little bit already. You know, I'm seeing posts from the NCAA talking about Villanova now having a national championship and a Pope.

We're seeing pictures of our Pope cheering on the White Sox at the World Series. And all of this is a kind of stunning engagement with American culture. You know, of course, the prevailing consensus was that the Pope wouldn't come from the United States because of the role that the United States plays in geopolitics and in the international economy.

But now already I'm seeing a kind of genius to this because of the mystique that's being built up. You know, when we know that the Pope was called Bob or Bobby, you immediately, as an American, get a kind of sense of familiarity. You begin to think, well, maybe this is someone that I could understand.

And so it takes away a little bit of that mystique of the papacy, which for some is an obstacle, and helps them to understand that the Pope is exactly who he says he would be from the loggia, that with us he's a Christian and for us he'll be a bishop.

SOLOMON: And Elise, how about reaching young people, in particular young Catholics, and maybe even beyond just those in the Catholic faith? You know, as I said, he apparently enjoys playing Wordle.

You know, we had that clip a little earlier in the show. I'm not sure if you heard it, but where he said, you know, Popes are not meant to be little princes, like sitting in their castles. Talk to me about the goal of reaching young Catholics especially.

ALLEN: You know, I like that line that he used, that, you know, reference to not being princes in our own little worlds. That was something that Pope Francis really, you know, had close to his heart, wanting the church and especially the church's pastors to be people who go out to the people, you know, who don't stay in their little worlds, but who reach out and are constantly in mission. And I think, you know, Cardinal Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV is somebody who's very familiar with that.

Having spent so much of his life as a missionary, that's what he's done consistently is reach out. And I think especially to young people, you know, I think there's a lot more interest now, just given social media, you know, given also the movie Conclave has ginned up a lot of excitement and interest in this process. I think there's a lot of curiosity about him and who he is.

And I think, you know, this Pope in particular is somebody who is easy to communicate with. He speaks in very simple terms. He's somebody that's going to be very easy to understand -- for young people to be very easy to understand and engage with, I think.

So he's going to be a very attractive figure going forward for them, I think.

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SOLOMON: That's such an interesting point because I heard that he recently rewatched the Conclave, which I immediately thought, haven't we all? I mean, it sort of, in that moment, just felt relatable just in and of itself.

Elise Allen, thank you. Father Patrick Mary Briscoe in Rome, thank you as well. Appreciate the time this morning.

And a dual citizen who likes math and baseball now leads the Catholic Church. We will look at the humble beginnings of Robert Prevost before he became Pope.

And later, President Trump says that it's time that a trade deal with the U.K. is the first of many to come. We'll have reaction from the British Prime Minister.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Before he became Pope Leo XIV or even a Cardinal, he was Bob from Chicago.

CNN's Whitney Wild has a look at his background in the U.S. and beyond.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in history, presenting himself to the world.

POPE LEO XIV: La pace sia con tutti voi.

(through translator) Peace be with you all.

WILD (voice-over): The 69-year-old Robert Prevost was born in Chicago. His father, Louis, an educator. His mother, Mildred, a librarian, according to "The Chicago Sun-Times".

He spoke about his early years in this interview with the Midwest Augustinians 10 years ago.

POPE LEO XIV: From a young age, I had sort of a sense that I would like to do some kind of service in the church. Priesthood was a part of that. Both of my older brothers studied at an Augustinian high school, Mendel High School, here in Chicago.

WILD (voice-over): He attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania, earning a bachelors in mathematics before going on to receive his master of divinity from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.

SR. BARBARA REID, OP, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC THEOLOGICAL UNION: I have absolutely no doubt that our new Pope, Leo XIV, will just be an extraordinary leader. We didn't think it was possible for an American to be the person that the Cardinals would choose. But he's a person that really has the heart of the whole church.

WILD (voice-over): We got a tour of where the Pope lived during some of his time at the Catholic Theological Union.

FATHER JOHN LYDON, ORDER OF SAINT AUGUSTINE: Pope Leo actually worked here after he was our friar general, and he finished his term. He came and lived in this house and had the job that I presently have, the director of formation.

WILD (voice-over): Pope Leo XIV has spent much of his life and career as a missionary in South America. He spent a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and served as a bishop in Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, from 2014 to 2023.

Pope Leo XIV is a dual U.S. and Peruvian national. According to Peru's National Migration Registry, he became a Peruvian citizen in August of 2015. He outlined his vision for the church, echoing his path to becoming the 267th leader of the Catholic Church.

POPE LEO XIV (through translator): We have to seek together to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges and dialogue.

WILD (voice-over): Prevost just last year spoke at a Chicago area Catholic Church about how the church picks the pope it needs.

POPE LEO XIV: I truly believe that Pope Francis was elected by the College of Cardinals in 2013 because of the church at this time needs Francis. At a different time, we needed Pope Benedict. And at a different time, we needed Saint John Paul II, et cetera, et cetera.

WILD: Father John Lydon told us that, yes, he is an American by birth, but he is not an American pope. He says he has a global mindset, a universal mindset. And in fact, it was last summer here in Illinois when now Pope Leo said that he's -- the time that was the most impactful for him was the time he spent in Peru.

Those 20 years were the most important in shaping who he is as a leader now, as we know, the leader of all the Catholic Church.

Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: And after the Vatican announced the election of American Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, bells rang out at the largest Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. This is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. CNN asked students at the Catholic University of America, also in Washington, what they think about the first American pope.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK, what's your reaction? A first American pope in history?

JACK FARRELL, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN: I was stunned, to be honest. I mean, I knew we had so many amazing Cardinals from the U.S., but I knew there were so many options from all around the world. And the fact that he's American was just, I did not expect in the slightest. And it's really, really awesome. We definitely need a reformer.

LEO ENGBERT, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN: We definitely need a reformer. I would agree with Tristan in saying that we really need unity and peace right now in the church. And I think it's great that he's from America, because we need a figure, a world figure like that from America to spread the true meaning of Christ's gospel around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: All right let's bring in Claire Giangrave, a Vatican reporter for Religion News Service. She joins us live from Rome. Claire, great to have you this morning.

There is obviously a lot of excitement here in the U.S. about an American-born pope. I'm curious what the reaction has been like in other parts of the world. We had a correspondent on a little bit earlier who said, look, there was a little bit of disappointment that perhaps the next pope wasn't an Italian.

I mean, walk me through some of the reactions in other parts of the world.

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CLAIRE GIANGRAVE, VATICAN REPORTER, RELIGION NEW SERVICE: I think the shock and surprise that overtook many Americans, both from North America and South America, was echoed among many Italians, for example. And definitely, as I was in the square, I heard that from other people around me.

Who is this new pope? Where does he come from? Who does he represent? And it's an important reminder that actually he's representing the entire global church, which in the days leading up to the conclave, as I was speaking to cardinals, that's what they kept reminding me of.

They kept saying, this isn't an American, this isn't going to be African-Asian, this is going to be someone for the entire church. Obviously, we've seen presidents, representatives of governments sent heartwarming welcoming to the new pope. SOLOMON: Yes, and talk to me about just in the last, I mean, it hasn't even been 24 hours yet, but in the ways in which we've already seen him sort of drawing some distinctions from his predecessor, but also in some ways also sounding similar to Pope Francis.

GIANGRAVE: Yes, I mean, he immediately mentioned Pope Francis as he addressed the crowd. He was not going to let that legacy pass without being recognized. He said, thank you, Pope Francis.

And the crowd cheered incredibly. It was one of the moments where he connected with everyone there so much, because we had seen only 10 days earlier at the funeral mass crowds of people coming into the city of Rome to say their final goodbye to the Pope. He could not have done that.

We know that he shares, of course, Francis's interest in changing the church structures, but he also came with something a little different. He wasn't just wearing his white papal clothes. He wore the mozetta, the traditional clothes that had been worn by the predecessor of Pope Francis, Benedict XVI, and even before that, John Paul II.

So he's also signaling that, yes, I am a continuation of Pope Francis, but I also am going to respect the long tradition of the church.

SOLOMON: Yes, continuity was something that I think a lot of people sort of really honed in on in his comments. And then just sort of looking forward and moving forward, I mean, talk to us a little bit about the task ahead of him. I mean, this is obviously a celebratory moment, but this is and has been a challenging time for the Catholic church, both here in the U.S. and around the world.

And it is a challenging time for a lot of people around the world. And as I was talking to a little bit earlier with my guest, I was really struck by how many times he talked about the need for peace around the world. Talk to us about the task ahead of him now.

GIANGRAVE: I mean, you mentioned it, peace is definitely an important issue right now. We have many wars around the world and he feels, and he calls for a world that can build peace, that can build bridges, as he said. And of course, this will be a priority as it has been for every Pope in the church's history, at least the most recent one.

And we can imagine him going forward and calling for a ceasefire and just peace in various areas of the world, from Ukraine to the Middle East.

But the Vatican is also in dire need of reform. That is a project that Benedict XVI started. Pope Francis led forward and that we expect Pope Leo to continue. The Cardinals have presented a very preoccupying situation for the Catholic institution that must be addressed. And then let's not forget the question of the clerical sex abuse, which is closely connected with the credibility of the church in the world.

Pope Leo needs to find a way to reconnect with victims, take into account the mistakes that were made in the past and fix the mistakes that were done previously in a way that can, in some ways, start a conversation.

But one important thing to say about this is really that we don't know a Pope until a year after he's been elected. These men really change once they put on that white papal clothes.

And it will be surprising for even close Vatican observers to see what Pope Leo really thinks the church should be.

SOLOMON: Say more about that when you say they can really change and it takes about a year to really understand who they may be and how they may lead. Say more about that. What do you mean?

GIANGRAVE: Well, Pope Francis, for example, when he was Bergoglio, was known for not really being very charismatic. Yes, he went to the slums, but if you've seen some of the pictures, the people who knew him in Argentina said that he was kind of grumpy. And then he went into that Room of Tears, Stanza delle Lacrime in Italian, where Popes go once they are elected.

And then he walked out as the Pope that we know now. We've seen this happen time and time again, where once they take on the role, the responsibility of speaking to 1.4 billion Catholics around the globe, that can change you. And if you've seen closely the images of Pope Leo XIV, the emotion that he was obviously feeling that moment as he looked at the crowd and probably thinking about the responsibility ahead of him.

I mean, we still have to see when he goes to his first mass, his priorities as Pope, the first papal trips that he will do, where will he go? Will he return to the United States? All of these are going to help us understand not who only Cardinal Prevost was, but who Pope Leo is.

SOLOMON: Yes, fascinating. Claire Giangrave, I appreciate you being here this morning live from Rome.

GIANGRAVE: Thank you.

SOLOMON: All right, plus, Russia is celebrating the allies World War II victory over Nazi Germany. Coming up, a look at the mighty military parade and the special guests.