Catholic politicians in New York reflected on the hope they hold for Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff from the United States. 

"We're lost sheep, especially in the Catholic Church," Councilman Robert Holden, a Queens Democrat and alter boy, said. "I think a lot of us need to go back to practicing faith because I see we don't really care for our fellow man. There's no middle ground anymore. We're polarized."

What You Need To Know

  • Pope Leo XIV, who grew up in Chicago, Illinois, was a missionary to Peru

  • Catholic lawmakers in New York hoped an American pope can reinvigorate the Catholic faithful across the country

  • There are about four million Catholics in the New York region

Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, a Queens Republican, lamented the empty pews these days.

"I think maybe through having an American pope, hopefully, it may give a shot in the arm," she said.

They offered their first impressions of the new pope, who grew up in Chicago before his ecclestatial career took him to Peru.

"I was not one of those, 'Oh my God, it's an American.' No, I wasn't that at all," Paladino said. "I was like, 'Oh, we have a pope. That's good.' Now, what are his qualifications and how do we think he's going to lead the Catholic Church?" 

Sam Pirozzolo, a Republican state assemblyman who once rushed from his Staten Island Catholic high school to see Pope John Paul II at Madison Square Garden, offered his first take on Pope Leo XIV.

"It seems to be that he's probably a little more conservative than our last pope. We will see," he said. "He's not just the pope for all of the Catholic people in the world. He's really the pope for everyone because his decisions influence pretty much everything."  

Holden thought the cardinals made the right choice.

"I'm hopeful that this pope, Pope Leo [XIV], will take a leadership roll in bolstering hte church, certainly in the United States," he said. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is Catholic, said on X, "The prayers of millions of Catholics around the globe are with you to guide the church forward and be a strong champion for compassion and dignity."

Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams, a Christian raised in a Pentacostal congregation and now attends nondemoninational services put out a statement hoping "His Holiness Pope Leo XIV will bring an inclusive persepctive to the papacy."