For years before becoming Pope Leo XIV — as a parish priest and then bishop in Peru — Robert Prevost built ties with interfaith environmental networks and Indigenous organizations to place forest protection and rights at the center of Church concern.

Although some feel Francis could have done more for their people during his 12 years as pontiff, Indigenous Catholics widely praise him for championing their causes

As billows of black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel Wednesday, several Filipino Catholic pilgrims from California kept their hopes up for the Church to be led by a pope who is one of their own: Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.