Being an adult Catholic isn’t easy. Pope Leo gives me hope.

Being an adult Catholic isn’t easy. Pope Leo gives me hope.

When I heard Robert Francis Prevost was elected the new pope and that he was raised in my hometown of Chicago, I cheered alone in my living room watching the announcement live on national news. Within hours, the memes started flying on social media. Some of them seemed a little disrespectful. But curiosity about him was everywhere, including among non-Catholics. I imagined him as a teenager eating an Italian beef, a hot dog or a slice of pizza w…