The new pontiff spoke to NBC News anchor Lester Holt, who was part of a news conference for some 6,000 journalists from around the world.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, said he expects Pope Leo XIV "feels an obligation," to speak to what he called the issues of the day, amid "real challenges globally."

In his first days as pope, Leo XIV has struck many as an unassuming man of quiet warmth and deeply rooted identity. A visit to the part of Chicago where the first American Pontiff was raised gives an idea of how he got that way.

Sox fans jumped on the news, posting tweets that the Cubs’ claim was premature. If it’s true he’s a Sox fan, Pope Leo XIV would be the team’s second representative of the Vatican after former Sox pitcher “The Pope” Donn Pall.

The election of Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, as the new pontiff has delighted Catholics and officials alike.

The 73-year-old Florida man appears to be a staunch Trump supporter who uses his Facebook account to go on the attack.

The contrast between President Donald Trump and Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV couldn’t be more stark — politically, personally or in their world views. They lead in different roles and realms.

Chicago’s South Side was solidly working class during Pope Leo’s childhood, said Rob Paral, a researcher at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago. The family attended a South Side church, but they lived in Dolton, a suburb just past the city line.