Locals react to news of first American Pope, share thoughts on legacy of Pope Francis
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— Pope Leo XIV has big shoes to fill following the death of the beloved Pope Francis, a pope who many say was magical.
“People felt like they could connect with him [Pope Francis]. They felt heard and listened to and respected from whatever walk of life that they came from,” said Santa Barbara County of Behavioral Health Spokeswoman Suzanne Grimmesey.
But how does Pope Leo compare?
“This new pope, Leo, is more somber. But he has some of the same concerns as Pope Francis,” said UC Santa Barbara political science professor Mark Juergensmeyer.
UC Santa Barbara political science professor Mark Juergensmeyer says Pope Leo is somewhere between progressive and traditional.
His milestone election as the first American Pope comes at politically polarizing time in U.S. politics, specifically as it relates to the destruction in Palestine.
“When the Pope is concerned about people in Gaza, I think it awakens the moral conscience of all of us. Francis was contacting priests in Gaza almost up to the time of his death. Almost every day he would have a chat with priests in Gaza. I expect this pope also to have a concern whether it will be the same concern remains to be seen,” said Juergensmeyer.
Even though he’s American-born, Pope Leo XIV is also a Peruvian citizen, who speaks fluent Spanish, Italian, and English.
Some hope he might be the person to bridge the sharp political divide here at home and be an ambassador of sorts for the United States.
“the Statue of Liberty says, that we open our arms to the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. This is the American spirit. We've strayed from that in some awful ways, particularly recently. But it is the American spirit, and the Pope can enshrine that in ways that will awaken that spirit, I hope, in all of us,” said Juergensmeyer.
