Pope Leo XIV indicated on Saturday that his papacy will follow closely in the footsteps of the late Pope Francis, telling church cardinals that they should take up that “precious legacy” and identifying artificial intelligence as a main challenge for working people and “human dignity.

Pope Leo XIV signalled on Saturday he would continue with the vision and reforms of Pope Francis, telling the world's Catholic cardinals the late pontiff left a "precious legacy" that must carry on. In his first meeting with all the cardinals since his election as pontiff on May 8,

Eighteen days after Pope Francis last appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, his successor -- the 267th pope -- emerged.