CHICAGO (AP) — After white smoke billowed Thursday from the Sistine Chapel, signaling that a pope had been chosen, students in every classroom at The Frances Xavier Warde School in Chicago had their eyes glued to TV screens.
As the image of the new pope, Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost, appeared onscreen, cheers erupted through the hallways. Children jumped out of their seats, pumping their hands in the air.
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A photo of the new Pope Leo XIV, Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost is shown on a phone from when he was a substitute teacher at St. Rita high school Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
A St. Rita High School student prays in the school chapel where the new Pope Leo XIV, Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost, was a substitute teacher, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
CORRECTS DATE - Bishop Lawrence J. Sullivan, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago, speaks as Father Gregory Sakowicz listens at Holy Name Cathedral, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Bishop Lawrence J. Sullivan, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago, speaks at Holy Name Cathedral, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Holy Name Cathedral is seen Thursday, May 8, 2025, in downtown Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Keely Reardon of Chicago kneels with her hands clasped at Holy Name Cathedral, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
People kneel in prayer at Madonna della Strada Chapel at Loyola University Chicago shortly before Chicago-born Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost was announced as Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
“Our students are just beside themselves," said Mary Perrotti, director of advancement at the school. “They’re beyond excited and can’t believe a Chicagoan is their new pope. They were in awe.”
Prevost, 69, took the name Leo XIV and replaced Pope Francis, who died last month. The first American elected pontiff, Pope Leo XIV was born and raised in Chicago before undertaking his ministry in Peru. Catholic Chicagoans gathered in churches and celebrated from their homes as the historic decision was announced.
“Our young people have a model now of a leader with justice and compassion at the heart of his ministries — and who is from their home,” Perrotti said. "It’s such a deep feeling of connection for them.”
Prevost was born in 1955 in the south side Chicago neighborhood of Bronzeville and grew up in suburban Dolton, near St. Mary of the Assumption, where he attended Mass and elementary school.
He later studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago in Hyde Park and taught in local Catholic schools, including at St. Rita High School, according to the school.
“We are overjoyed that someone who is beloved and known to us is now the beloved leader of the whole entire church,” said Barbara Reid, a Dominican sister and president of the Catholic Theological Union.
John Doughney, a fellow St. Mary’s grade school graduate from 1969, remembers Prevost as a “friend to everyone” and a “kind, caring, compassionate young man.”
“Even when he was 12 and 13, it was apparent to all of us that he knew what his calling was,” he said. “It would’ve shocked all of us if he didn’t go into the priesthood. We’re so proud of him.”
Linda Eickmann, 62, was also born and raised in Dolton and attended St. Mary's. When she saw the news of the new pope on TV, she screamed with joy.
“How cool is that?" she said. "A pope from my elementary school, from my town. It’s unreal.”
Eickmann remembered Prevost's family as being so deeply involved in the St. Mary's community that everyone knew their names. They ran sloppy joe sales to raise money for the school, and all their sons were altar boys, including Prevost.
Raul Raymundo, co-founder of a local community advocacy group called the Resurrection Project, said Thursday was a proud day for Chicagoans and he hoped Pope Leo XIV will "continue Pope Francis’ legacy and Chicago’s legacy of social justice and compassion, especially in welcoming immigrants.”
“There’s tears of joy, of hope, of motivation to rise to this moment and leave this world better than we found it," said Raymundo, an immigrant from Mexico who grew up in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.
At Holy Name Cathedral, about two dozen people gathered to pray as light filtered in through the stained glass windows.
Kneeling in a pew, Laurel Legler said she isn't Catholic or even Christian but felt she had to be there after the new American pope's election was announced. She called it a “profound moment.”
Zoë Poehlman, a nurse who moved from Kansas City to Chicago a few months ago, described the mood as exciting and hopes there will be citywide celebrations. “It was just so crazy,” she said.
Father Gregory Sakowicz, the cathedral's rector, said that when the new pope was announced, the sun came out — a coincidence he described as “God’s way of remaining anonymous.” He said he was “happily shocked,” and that he had a burning question: Whether the new Pope was a White Sox fan?
When a journalist in the crowd said she’d heard Pope Leo XIV is a Cubs fan, Sakowicz chuckled. “God bless him,” he said. It turns out he's a Sox fan.
On social media, people swapped memes about Chicago staples — deep-dish and tavern-style pizza, the Chicago liqueur Malört and baseball, reflecting the civic pride of Chicago residents as they claimed the pope as one of their own.
Google search traffic for “Da Pope” skyrocketed, and a local T-shirt company announced it would sell “Da Pope” shirts with a blue-and-orange Bears-themed design. Chicagoans overlayed Chicago Bulls intro music to video of the pope exiting the Vatican.
Some joked about replacing communion wafers and wine with tavern-style pizza and Malört. And the Chicago fast food chain Portillo's jested about shipping its Italian beef to Vatican City.
Many users also proclaimed hope the new pope would represent Chicago's history of social justice.
“For Catholic Chicagoans, to have a native son who has been born and raised in a city where support and care of all has always been central to who we are as a city, it really speaks volumes," Perrotti said.
"I truly believe his upbringing in Chicago informs his ministries, his compassion and sense of justice. Now, he can give the world a sense of who we are as a city.”
This story corrects spelling of Laurel Legler’s last name from Legle to Legler
A photo of the new Pope Leo XIV, Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost is shown on a phone from when he was a substitute teacher at St. Rita high school Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
A St. Rita High School student prays in the school chapel where the new Pope Leo XIV, Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost, was a substitute teacher, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
CORRECTS DATE - Bishop Lawrence J. Sullivan, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago, speaks as Father Gregory Sakowicz listens at Holy Name Cathedral, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Bishop Lawrence J. Sullivan, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago, speaks at Holy Name Cathedral, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Holy Name Cathedral is seen Thursday, May 8, 2025, in downtown Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Keely Reardon of Chicago kneels with her hands clasped at Holy Name Cathedral, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
People kneel in prayer at Madonna della Strada Chapel at Loyola University Chicago shortly before Chicago-born Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost was announced as Pope Leo XIV, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.
In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.
Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.
Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.
At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.
“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”
Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.
Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.
This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.
Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.
“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.
The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.
Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.
“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”
In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.
He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.
“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”
After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.
“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.
Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.
“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.
But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.
The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.
Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.
Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.
“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”
On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.
“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”
Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.
“Today is my peaceful day.”
Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," get lunch Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Aloka rests with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
A sign is seen greeting the Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Supporters pray with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Supporters watch Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
A Buddhist monk ties a prayer bracelet around the wrist of Josey Lee, 2-months-old, during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara leads other buddhist monks in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Audrie Pearce greets Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," arrive in Saluda, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," are seen with their dog, Aloka, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
