

The Vatican just went full USA — and 20/20 got there first.
Cardinal Robert Prevost is elected as the new pope of the Catholic Church. He is the first American pope and will take the name Pope Leo XIV.
Production
Same-day edit of actual papal history unfolding.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
20/20 rushed this special edition within 48 hours of the white smoke — network news infrastructure still flexes when it matters.
Leo XIV breaks 2,000 years of Euro-papal dominance; this special essentially documents the moment Catholicism's center of gravity shifted westward.
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