Catholics across the world are celebrating newly-elected Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Leo XIV — born Robert Prevost — was elected Thursday as pope. The Chicago native is the first American pope. 

Catholics in the Rio Grande Valley reacted to the new pope.

Valeria Lopez was in mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle when she heard the news. 

“It came on my phone and my tears just started to fall,” Lopez said.

Lopez said she wasn’t hoping for a cardinal of a particular nationality, but now she hopes the first American pope will help address American problems. 

READ MORE: Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, overcame a taboo against a US pontiff

“He can convince some people here in the United States that not all migrants are enemies,” Lopez said.

Anika Vaquera said she’s happy someone new is leading the church

“It's exciting for America to have a pope because I know that a lot of the major Catholic churches are in Europe,” Vaquera said.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville said he believes the new pope will hold the U.S. close.

“He kind of has the whole world to look at, but so I’m sure he has a special heart for the struggles we have in the United States," Flores said.

Flores told Channel 5 News he met Pope Leo as Cardinal Prevost on a trip to Rome in 2024. Flores said Leo was humble, and a good listener.

For Flores, those qualities — along with his American roots and deep ties to Latin America — will resonate with Valley Catholics. 

“To have awareness of different and diverse cultures in your personal life is a great gift, and can establish a kind of reconciliation,” Flores said.

A new pope will typically have a formal coronation about a week after his election.

Watch the video above for the full story.