People react at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Chiclayo, Peru, May 8, 2025, the day Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected pope. He chose the papal name Leo XIV. As an Augustinian priest, then-Father Prevost spent many years as a missionary in Peru. (OSV News photo/Sebastian Castaneda, Reuters)

Pope Leo XIV's Latin American connections and first-hand familiarity with the lives of the poor in Peru, will likely reinforce his predecessor's social vocation and vigorous concern for migrants. But that's not the only way he expresses his Peruvian side.

As the first pope from the United States and a dual citizen of America and Peru, Pope Leo XIV — a native of the Windy City — is emerging as a symbol of hope for those seeking a more compassionate approach to immigration,