JD Vance, local religious and political leaders congratulate Pope Leo XIV on election

VATICAN CITY — Political and religious leaders in the Tri-State are congratulating Pope Leo XIV on his election.

The first American Pope, born Robert Prevost, was elected on the second day of the conclave to replace Pope Francis. While Chicago-born, Pope Leo has spent much of his time in Peru, where he worked as a missionary, teacher and parish priest before Pope Francis appointed him to serve as the bishop of Chiclayo and then apostolic administrator of the diocese of Callao.

Cincinnati Archbishop Robert G. Casey shared a release following Pope Leo's election saying in part, "This is a unifying moment in the life of the Church, reminding us of the Good Shepherd's eternal care for His flock. ... With great joy and gratitude, I join the people of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in praying for our new Holy Father. May the Lord grant him wisdom, courage and strength in carrying out his sacred ministry."

WCPO 9 spoke with Bishop John Iffert of the Diocese of Covington about the historic decision. He said he was surprised by the news.

"I said, 'Oh, an American Pope, I just don’t see it happening.' ... I was pleasantly, pleasantly surprised," Iffert said.

WATCH: Bishop Iffert expresses his hopes with a new, American-born pope

Iffert said he believes the pope's leadership will focus on a global approach to the dignity of the individual and help for the poor — but mostly peace, which he said is very much needed in today's society.

"In the world today, there is so much conflict, there's the hot conflict of war in Gaza, in Sudan ... in Ukraine, now we've been seeing the exchange of fire in India and Pakistan," Iffert said. "And then the polarization, not only the polarization we think of here in the United States between one political approach or another, but the polarization we see around the world that's growing...by many nationalism's around the world."

Iffert also mentioned that Pope Leo, being the first Pope from the United States, is very significant. At this time, though, he doesn't yet know what it'll mean for the country.

“Yes, he is from the United States, but he spent as much of his life in Peru," Iffert said. "In terms of what it will mean for our politics or what it will mean for our culture, that’s yet to be determined.”

But he hopes Pope Leo will bring unity.

"Even though we're gonna claim him, I hope that that nationalism will encourage us to join him ... in that campaign for peace," Iffert said.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who is a member of the Catholic Church, also shared his congratulations on Thursday.

"Fran and I are joyous upon the selection today of our new Pope — Pope Leo the XIV. ... His background as a parish priest and as a missionary tells us that he will be a Pope who will work hard to stay in touch with people of all backgrounds around the world," DeWine said.

Vice President JD Vance, a Middletown native, has spoken several times about converting to Catholicism. He recently made headlines when he briefly met with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday, one day before his death.

Vance congratulated the new American pope on his election on social media.

"Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election! I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him," Vance said on X (formerly Twitter).

Pope Leo appears to have made multiple posts about Vance and the Trump administration before his election.

In February, while a cardinal, he shared on X an article titled, "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others." The article from the National Catholic Reporter responds to Vance's comments on FOX News that a Christian concept says "you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world."

Days later, the now-pope shared an article from America Magazine titled, "Pope Francis' letter, JD Vance's 'ordo amoris' and what the Gospel asks of all of us on immigration."

As recently as April 14, he shared a post from Catholic commentator Rocco Palmo that questioned the Trump administration's deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and linked to an article by Bishop Evelio Menjivar, an El Salvador native who serves as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington, about the federal government's "campaign of aggressive threats."

Neither Vance nor President Donald Trump appeared to comment on Pope Leo's previous posts.