CHICAGO — Faculty, staff and students at Chicago's Catholic Theological Union are celebrating as one of their own has been named the next Pope of the Catholic Church.
The Chicago native, known to many in the Hyde Park neighborhood as "Bob from Chicago," received his Master of Divinity degree after spending five years at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU).
"It was just overwhelming. It was overwhelming," said Sr. Barbara Reid, O.P., Ph.D.
Sister Reid, president of CTU, had the opportunity to meet Pope Leo several times, including in Rome in 2023 when he was elevated to Cardinal.
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"The way that he inspires confidence. The way that people automatically trust and how he reaches out to people, he makes everyone that he is with feel like they are the most important person in the world," said Reid.
Thomas Howard, a CTU alumnus who was at the school just five years apart from the new Pope, shared many professors with him.
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"He's going to be in dialogue, conversation not so much polarization but to bring people together through dialogue," said Howard.
Howard and his wife Libia Paez-Howard visited campus to celebrate the historic announcement.
"I know his mind is with the people who are in need. He knows the Latin American people through the people of Peru and he's also of mixed descent like our families are of mixed cultures so I'm very excited about that," said Paez-Howard.
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The connection to CTU is a source of pride for the small religious graduate school and its alumni.
"We're so proud that we can say that we're fellow graduates of the pope," said Howard.
The couple does have a Milwaukee connection. Their son, René Howard-Páez, is the president of St. Joan Antida.
This story was reported by Mike Beiermeister and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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