The election of a new pope always represents a historical milestone, but it also has profound geopolitical implications. The arrival of Leo XIV to the pontificate comes at a particularly critical time: the world is living in an era of increasing polarization, shrinking democracies, rising international tensions and a religion that, in many contexts, is increasingly instrumentalized politically.

Robert Francis Prevost Martinez, of U.S. origin and with a career marked by his work in peripheral areas of Latin America, has been chosen as successor to Peter. The choice of his name, Leo XIV, is loaded with meaning. It evokes Leo XIII, author of the encyclical Rerum Novarum, a core topic in the emergence of the Church's social doctrine. In a 21st century marked by new expressions of inequality - such as the digital divide, job insecurity or unequal access to knowledgethis choice seems to send a clear message: to renew and project the social dimension of the Church on the global stage.

From Washington, the election of an American pope has not gone unnoticed. President Donald Trump publicly celebrated the appointment of Leo XIV, stressing the "cause for national pride" in seeing a fellow American on the throne of St. Peter. However, national enthusiasm does not necessarily reflect the profile or priorities of the new pontiff.

Although born in Chicago, Leon XIV does not represent only the United States as a power, but embodies the two Americas: the North and the South. His career has taken him far from his home country. For many years he was Prior General of the Augustinians and spent more than two decades in Peru, where he developed a pastoral work deeply committed to the most vulnerable sectors. As bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo, he lived intensely the reality of the Peruvian people, to the point of becoming a naturalized citizen of that country. He speaks six languages, but did not use English in his first words as Pope; he did so in Italian and Spanish, visibly moved. Nor did he present himself as a Western leader, but as a cultural and spiritual bridge in a world in urgent need of meeting points.

The world he inherits is not the same as the one Pope Francis received. If that pontificate was defined by his closeness to the Global South and his commitment to social and environmental justice - as expressed in the encyclical Laudato Si -the new Pope will have to respond to an even more divided and convulsive world. The return of Donald Trump to the global political scene, the crisis of multilateralism, the active wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the rising migratory pressure make up an environment where Vatican diplomacy can be more relevant than ever.

Without military force or tools of economic pressure, the Pope acts from another dimension of power: that of building bridges where conflict and mistrust dominate. John Paul II did it by opening the way between East and West, and Francis replicated it by placing climate and inequality at the center of the international diary It is now up to Leo XIV to continue building this bequest in the face of the new fractures in the global order.