A new AP-NORC poll finds that just over a month after Pope Leo XIV became the first U.S.-born pontiff, American Catholics are feeling excited about their new religious leader.

Matthew Gamboa, a 15-year-old who attends St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, said he was inspired by the Pope’s encouragement to be “a beacon of light,” even though he might be only a high schooler.

Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was born in Dolton, on the outskirts of the city's south side, and has spent most of his career as a priest outside the U.S. He is a membe