Chicago Saw a Boost in Tourism Last Year. Will the Pope Be a Blessing in 2025?

Chicago saw a boost in tourism last year. Will the pope be a blessing in 2025?

Some hope the selection of Chicago native Robert Francis Prevost as the first American pope might boost the city as a travel and pilgrimage destination.

Getty Images The Vatican's popes are taking on a new dimension after they were chosen to lead the Catholic Church. With the election of the first American pope, Pope Leo XIV, announced this month, could Chicago become a tourist hotspot? When plumes of white smoke rose into the sky over Rome last week, announcing the election of Pope…

‘Pray for the new pope Americano’: Italians warm to Chicago-born Pope Leo as merch hits Rome streets – Usa news

ROME — Earlier this week, a poster of Pope Leo XIV appeared in the window of Bible SPA, a small shop along the ancient Borgo Santo Spiritu that sells natural beauty products inspired by Bible verses a few yards from St. Peter’s Square. The poster, created with the help of artificial intelligence (don’t tell the new Holy Father, who is not a fan of AI), is an image of Leo in his papal whites, smiling with his lips closed and looking directly into…