Meet Pope Leo XIV — But Will He Be As Cool As Pope Francis?

Pope Francis was many things — the head of the Catholic Church, a global religious icon, and, unexpectedly, a music lover. And not just in a casual way. The man loved classical music so much, he had a collection of around 2,000 CDs. That’s not a typo.

In fact, in 2022, the late Pope was spotted ducking into a local Rome record shop called Stereosound to pick up a classical CD. The shop owner said he was a regular when Church duties brought him to the city. So yes, he ran the Vatican and supported local businesses. Legend.

Now that Pope Francis has passed, the big question is: Will Pope Leo XIV be just as cool?

RELATED: Whoopi Goldberg Meets Pope Francis

What We Know About the New Guy

Pope Leo XIV, a.k.a. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, just made history as the first-ever American pope. Born in the U.S., he's also a dual citizen of Peru, where he spent much of his career doing missionary work in South America. He most recently held a high-ranking Vatican position overseeing bishop appointments — so, kind of a big deal.

And like Francis before him, Pope Leo XIV has some personal quirks that might win people over.

• He loves reading 📚
• He plays tennis 🎾
• And while we haven’t heard about his music taste just yet, it’ll be hard to top 2,000 classical CDs.

Fun historical note: the last pope to take the name Leo — Pope Leo XIII — was known for siding with the poor and standing up for workers’ rights. So there’s some promising energy there.

Time will tell if Leo XIV can bring the same mix of humility and humanity that made Pope Francis such a standout. But for now, we’ll be keeping an eye out — and maybe checking his Spotify.