One Villanova professor attributed Leo’s election to what he called the “Trump effect,” while a conservative Catholic University of America professor told The Fix he is “cautiously optimistic” about the Church’s new leader.

Father Donohue was busy himself on Thursday. He happened to be in Chicago, the new pope’s hometown, for a Villanova alumni event. Once the news was announced, scores of congratulatory texts and emails came in, including a note from the president of a rival Catholic university, Notre Dame.

Before he was pope, he was a math major at a Catholic liberal arts university in Pennsylvania. Pope Leo XIV is the 267th head of the Catholic Church. He’s also a class of ’77 alumnus of Villanova University,